> Another guy was worse...he smashed his phone on the desk about two feet from my face to "show me who is boss," occasionally got physical with me, and would routinely say stuff like "I own your soul" to me while I was working.
> Sad part is, the abuse happens to everyone so you start to accept it.
And that's why it continues: because everyone accepts it and allows it. I'm lucky to be in a position where it's not difficult for me to find a job (so I can understand that this sort of principled stand is not available to everyone), so if a boss ever behaved like that to me, I would quit on the spot, and tell them, very loudly, in front of the whole floor, why I was quitting. Zero question about it.
It continues because it's a high-stakes situation.
If you endure the period of 1-3 years with abuse and horrible working conditions, you have that golden star in your resume, and can move on to something better.
But that's how the system is designed. Work young analysts to the bone, send them off to business school/hedge funds/private equity firms/corporate dev. jobs/whatever, and take in the next batch.
The people that rock the boat can easily get punished. And then their financial careers go up in smoke. Not an ideal situation for high-achievers that have sacrificed their youth on getting good grades, extracurriculars, and in general maximizing their chances of getting into some investment bank.
This seems like it must reflect that the job isn't that difficult to do, or something like that. With many other highly qualified professionals in specialist roles, you can't get away with this behavior as much because they can easily find a better employer.
> Sad part is, the abuse happens to everyone so you start to accept it.
And that's why it continues: because everyone accepts it and allows it. I'm lucky to be in a position where it's not difficult for me to find a job (so I can understand that this sort of principled stand is not available to everyone), so if a boss ever behaved like that to me, I would quit on the spot, and tell them, very loudly, in front of the whole floor, why I was quitting. Zero question about it.