We write a lot about the travails of the junior IBD banker, such that if anyone’s going to be familiar with discontentment in the finance industry, you’d have thought it would be us. Nonetheless, the results to the latest Financial News survey on morale in the City of London make pretty surprising reading.
Firstly, it seem that hardly anyone working in finance is hugely enthused about their job. Only 12.1% of those surveyed by Financial News said they ‘loved’ what they’re doing. This was down from 14% in 2014 and 24% in 2013 – a halving of vocational adoration in two years.
Secondly, next to no one feels impervious to redundancy. Just 8.8% of respondents said they considered their jobs ‘very secure,’ down from 17% last year and 16% in 2013.
Thirdly, 59.5% said they had to work beyond their contracted hours ‘to justify themselves to their employer.’ This was up from 49% in 2013 and 35.5% in 2013.
It looks bad, and maybe it is – Financial News argues that banking employees are taking the brunt of the pain as the sector restructures. However, it’s worth considering that these are bankers rather than creatives and therefore they might not gush about ‘loving their’ jobs even if their were quite happy with them. Equally, 40% clearly consider their hours eminently bearable, and are any careers really secure nowadays? – Feeling better already? The reality is that most people simply feel stuck: “I would love to leave banking, but the money and a lack of transferable skills make me reluctant,” one banker told Financial News.
Separately, Man Group has devised a coding game to help identify potential recruits. The Telegraph reports that the hedge fund has initiated a coding competition for students to create an algorithm that will compete in a game of ‘Hexplode’, a 1980s strategy game in which players take turns to place pieces on an hexagonal board. The eight best coders will be invited to apply for a new eight week programming internship at AHL and asked along to a ‘day of live coding’ next February, at the end of which the winner will be given £5k.
Meanwhile:
With Investec, you can become an investment banker in Leeds. (CityWire)
Deutsche Bank has leased an extra 53,000 sq feet of space in the City this year. (Financial Times)
Upon no day did Bank of America’s traders lose money in the third quarter. (Bloomberg)
What you should be wondering about UBS. (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs is trying hard to hire for its peer to peer lending business. (Bloomberg)
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker is applying Goldman Sachs interview techniques to hire diminutive shoe-care business. (Business Insider)
Why you probably don’t want to divulge your Asperger’s Syndrome on your CV. (NY Times)
An investment of $100 in a portfolio of stocks and bonds since the Federal Reserve began quantitative easing would now be worth $205. Over the same time, a wage of $100 has risen to just $114. (Bloomberg)
Some employees at Lloyds Banking Group PLC recently received a memo dubbed “Wet-Wipe Wednesday,” imploring them to wipe down their own desks each week. (WSJ)
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