The healthiest bankers in the world aren't where you expect them to be
People who work in financial services aren’t famous for their excellent health, Patrick Bateman aside. Between the long work hours and high stress, it can be hard to keep up with a workout routine or even the occasional light meditation. But there are bankers who manage. Where are they? And who do they work for?
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Our Compensation & Lifestyle Report 2026 is based on a survey that we ran across Q1 that received over 2,700 responses from financial services professionals. Aside from questions about their compensation, we also asked them how they felt about their health.
On average, financial services professionals rated their health a 7.2 out of ten, with physical health being rated higher than mental health, generally – 7.4 vs 7.1, respectively.
The healthiest professionals are to be found at either investment bank Goldman Sachs or at asset management firm BlackRock. Both reported average health scores of 7.6, but while BlackRock reported equal mental and physical health scores, Goldman Sachs reported much higher physical health scores than mental health scores.
One respondent to our survey working for BlackRock said that there is “more time to exercise on the buy-side”, rating his physical health an 8 out of ten. He proceeded to rate his mental health a 5 out of ten, however, noting “existential dread of future of country.” Unfortunate.
The least healthy professionals, surprisingly, were both at European banks: Standard Chartered and Santander. Respondents from both reported average health scores of 6.1, with Santander respondents reporting equal self-ratings of 6.1 in both mental and physical health. Respondents working for Standard Chartered reported more average physical health scores of 6.8 and extremely poor mental health scores of 5.5.
One Standard Chartered director based in London responding to our survey gave his physical health a score of 5 out of 10. “Too much work and travel to exercise fully,” he said. A Santander analyst, meanwhile, rated their mental health a 3 out of ten, noting that they “developed thyroid cancer due to the pressures exerted on me by my manager.” They also rated their physical health as a 6/10, for what it’s worth.
Standard Chartered declined to comment, but it does have a number of initiatives to improve employee's health. For example, it provides access via Unmind to a 24/7 helpline offering financial and legal advice, as well as access to monthly appointments for coaching, counselling, and clinical psychotherapy.
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