JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on work-life balance: 'If you're frenzied, it's you - not the job'

Jamie Dimon is the CEO of JP Morgan Chase.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, delineated the boundaries between corporate responsibility and personal accountability in a video that is doing the rounds on social media. His remarks offered a perspective on what he believes are the limits of a company’s role in supporting its employees.

“It is your job to take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul, your friends, your family, your health,” Dimon asserted. “It's your job, not our job.” He pointed out a prevalent misconception within some organisations that companies are responsible for the holistic well-being of their employees.

While emphasising personal responsibility, Dimon also acknowledged the efforts companies like JPMorgan Chase make to support their workforce. “We should do everything we can to help you. We provide medical care, strength training, Pilates, and massages. We really do try to take care of our people.”

"If you're frenzied, it's you. It's not the job."

Jamie Dimon on the role of a company versus where personal responsibility & accountability is needed pic.twitter.com/iy8Qs4kWre

— Anand Sanwal (@asanwal) July 9, 2024

Dimon shared insights from his own approach to productivity. “Most people don't work very smart. I handle emails and phone calls generally once. I have three types of reading: very fast, fast, and very slow. The very slow is for complex issues I need to think about. The very fast might be a magazine; I just want to see if there's anything interesting.”

Highlighting a common issue, Dimon remarked on the state of being perpetually busy and disorganised. “People don’t run their lives efficiently. Even in school, people are frenzied. They're always frenzied. They're late. They can’t get back. They say, 'I'm sorry I didn’t get back. I couldn’t get this done.' If you're frenzied, it’s you. It's not the school, not the job. It's you because a lot of us aren’t frenzied. I'm never late.”