JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has made no bones about his message to employees: Get over the fact that work is hard.
Speaking At the Women’s Quotient Lounge in Davos, Switzerland, Dimon, along with Patricia Devine, head of global enterprise sales at JPMorgan Chase, laid out the harsh reality for workers seeking instant gratification: “Every part of the job has a boring part. Get over it.”
Dimon’s advice stands out at a time when younger workers are increasingly disengaged, with surveys showing a significant recent decline in workplace engagement among young workers. GallupGen Z employee engagement dropped five percentage points between 2024 and 2025. Recruitment Firms’ 2025 Report Renstad Also shown average tenure The first 5 years a Gen Z employee spends with a company has shrunk to just 1.1 years. This contrasts with the average tenure of 2.9 years for baby boomers early in their careers. While the Randstad study attributed these short-lived jobs to a desire to grow rather than job-hopping, Dimon said young people should stick with their jobs to further their careers. He did not say how long he recommended young people work.
“Don’t look for a new job,” Dimon said. “Some people always think they’re ruining their lives because they should be enjoying what they’re doing.”
Dimon’s words criticized the preference for work-life balance over other priorities, such as competitive pay and benefit packages, or purpose-driven work. Work-life balance today dominant According to Randstad, workplace discourse has now surpassed salary as the primary motivator for job seekers. Damon also explain Work-life balance should be a priority for his employees, especially those with families. But he said it was necessary to “work smart” in order to balance the two.
The CEO said there is no substitute for hard work in the pursuit of career success.
“Hard work. There’s no substitute,” Dimon said. “I still see a lot of people who think they can find a shortcut to a heroic ‘something.’ That’s almost never true.”
generational reset
Young workers are entering a very different workforce than older generations. Many Gen Zers have reached working age during the coronavirus pandemic and believe remote or hybrid work has become the norm. However, Dimon said this mentality can be detrimental to career advancement, Tell “You can’t learn in a basement,” Gen Z employees said after urging corporate employees to return to full-time face-to-face work, adding that the move would drive employee innovation.
Gen Z’s rebellion may not be due to laziness, however. Part of the rebound is structural. Junior Opportunities is decreasing For young workers, as entry-level skills become increasingly automated, there is a gap in the traditional place of early growth. in another interview The Economist Dimon at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos suggest workers When it comes to AI automation, “don’t bury your head in the sand.”
“That’s the way it is,” he said, while acknowledging that he would May employ fewer workers in the coming years thanks to artificial intelligence.
Keep an open mind and set goals
In addition to telling employees to work hard, speak concisely and develop empathy, Dimon also advised employees to keep an open mind, especially in a time when career trajectories are changing rapidly.
“Be open to relationships, changing jobs, trying different things,” he advises, “and you’ll have a great career.”
Dimon also emphasized the need for career goals. He implored the “heavy workload” workers faced not necessarily as an obstacle but as a step on the path to achievement. He said purpose could be found in a variety of careers, not just in banking and finance but also in teaching or nursing.
“When they say the pursuit of happiness in the Constitution, it’s about accomplishing something in life, doing something meaningful,” Dimon said.