Financial Meltdown and Mental Disintegration
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Many people that work in banking are confident individuals at the best of times, which as we all know that is a slight euphemism for 'unspeakably arrogant', and worse.
I have often seen a twenty something associate with intricately manicured facial hair, berate their manager with 20 years investment banking experience for their perceived lack of commitment - especially hard to swallow when the same individual will spend most of Thursday and Friday mornings with a hangover so violent, they have to concentrate in order to breathe.
However, the current financial crisis is affecting a lot of people. Physically, in terms of those of our that have lost or are losing their jobs. Mentally, in terms of those that are left. In a lot of cases, the mesmerising obnoxiousness is being replaced by barely disguised panic.
Many uniformly ill-informed journalists seem to be writing articles saying that this crisis is disproportionately affecting women, or minorities, or the Welsh, but it seems to me that everyone is affected in one way or another. I have been through downturns before and have been made redundant before - experiences that highlighted the fact that some of our colleagues become HR professionals because they actually hate people - but I haven't experienced the general sense of fear that is commonplace now. Previously front, middle and back office workers would feel confident about getting a job in a few weeks, taking some time out, doing volunteer work, and generally 'finding themselves', but now there is no real guarantee that once you are out you will get back in. Certainly, there is no guarantee you will get back in with the perks that you had at your previous bank, especially for those who are more used to trying to work out where to put their helicopter.
The traditional haven for those that have been made redundant was either moving to a start-up, starting a own hedge fund, or rekindling that long-forgotten dream to be a writer/rock star/supermodel. But now the backup - going back to an investment bank - is rapidly diminishing along with the number of banks that you could potentially apply to.
It is not too hard to see that we are going to have a very tough year. A lot of people will not get the chance to get back into banking after being made redundant, and that the life of someone in the financial markets is going to be very tough for a little while yet, and probably less rewarding given the pressure to reign in bonuses. I also think that the world has changed, and that the roles of investment banks, custodians, and their clients have morphed so much it is difficult to see where one starts and another begins. That topic is a discussion on its own.
All of that said, it is important to note that it is not all doom and gloom. There are far fewer people knocking around with manicured facial hair and asymmetric haircuts, which can't be a bad thing.
However, the current financial crisis is affecting a lot of people. Physically, in terms of those of our that have lost or are losing their jobs. Mentally, in terms of those that are left. In a lot of cases, the mesmerising obnoxiousness is being replaced by barely disguised panic.
Many uniformly ill-informed journalists seem to be writing articles saying that this crisis is disproportionately affecting women, or minorities, or the Welsh, but it seems to me that everyone is affected in one way or another. I have been through downturns before and have been made redundant before - experiences that highlighted the fact that some of our colleagues become HR professionals because they actually hate people - but I haven't experienced the general sense of fear that is commonplace now. Previously front, middle and back office workers would feel confident about getting a job in a few weeks, taking some time out, doing volunteer work, and generally 'finding themselves', but now there is no real guarantee that once you are out you will get back in. Certainly, there is no guarantee you will get back in with the perks that you had at your previous bank, especially for those who are more used to trying to work out where to put their helicopter.
The traditional haven for those that have been made redundant was either moving to a start-up, starting a own hedge fund, or rekindling that long-forgotten dream to be a writer/rock star/supermodel. But now the backup - going back to an investment bank - is rapidly diminishing along with the number of banks that you could potentially apply to.
It is not too hard to see that we are going to have a very tough year. A lot of people will not get the chance to get back into banking after being made redundant, and that the life of someone in the financial markets is going to be very tough for a little while yet, and probably less rewarding given the pressure to reign in bonuses. I also think that the world has changed, and that the roles of investment banks, custodians, and their clients have morphed so much it is difficult to see where one starts and another begins. That topic is a discussion on its own.
All of that said, it is important to note that it is not all doom and gloom. There are far fewer people knocking around with manicured facial hair and asymmetric haircuts, which can't be a bad thing.
Here Is The Writer : Bigshoes
Bigshoes is from the north, but has worked in the City for 17 years. He has two children, various mortgages and an addiction to The Wire. He has a sophisticated palate, with a taste for kebabs and the finest lager money can buy.
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