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Not long ago, analysts and associates in investment banks were required to work grueling hours. Pitch books assigned at 4 p.m. on Friday. Complex demands for mind-numbingly dense spreadsheets at 10 a.m. on Sunday. League table arranging to show that there are five planets or that Goldman Sachs is not really a top ranked adviser.

No longer. Young bankers are required to take weekends off and actually go on vacation (seriously). And now, Richard B. Handler, chief executive of Jefferies Group, and Brian P. Friedman, chairman of the executive committee, are imploring their bankers to go further and to be nice — really nice — to their underlings.

“Between the work challenges and the personal obligations, it is very easy to forget, overlook, or take for granted our most precious and critical partners who enable the Jefferies world to keep revolving and our individual careers to continue to shine: our analysts and associates,” Mr. Handler and Mr. Friedman wrote in a note to employees.

Since they are in banking, the two executives recommended a five-point action plan to help their senior bankers make their junior bankers feel good, including refraining from making obnoxious requests. “Waiting until the last minute to hand out work, creating unnecessary projects or deadlines, or just being insensitive makes you a jerk. We do not have or want jerks at Jefferies.”

They also highlighted the virtues of good manners. “Yes, a simple acknowledgement and thank you feels good to the recipient and makes a big difference,” the note says.

Work-life balance is all the rage now as banks compete to see who can be more generous to overworked 20-somethings (private equity firms and hedge funds can pay a lot more and have been poaching talented bankers). At Citigroup, junior bankers are encouraged to stay out of the office from 10 p.m. on Friday through 10 a.m. on Sunday and to take all of their annual vacation days, while at Goldman Sachs, analysts are told to take weekends off whenever possible. JPMorgan Chase wants to ensure that young employees have one “protected weekend” set aside for rest each month.

Mr. Handler and Mr. Friedman also suggested that senior bankers mentor younger ones. “Make it personal,” they said. Get to know where they went to school, where they like to have a beer and what they hope to be when they grow up (maybe just like you!).

If bankers wonder whether they really have time for this, the two executives (who, oddly enough, have a joint email) remind their colleagues that none of them probably would have made it into the entry-level positions they now oversee. “Quite frankly, we should all wonder if we could get ourselves into our firm today if we were competing heads up with all of them.”

Finally, there was a not-so-cryptic mention of the ice bucket challenge that Mr. Handler did from his penthouse apartment.

“Well rested from summer, fresh and highly motivated, (and one of us is no longer cold from the ice), Rich and Brian.”

Here is the full text of the letter: