I am not talking about the employer. Can you please read my post?
he has a tough time with reading.
I am not talking about the employer. Can you please read my post?
I have a hard time believing you were caught totally unaware by the culture surrounding investment banking. Did you not intern at all? I work construction and it’s a god damn fight for everything with everyone.
I wish everyone would do the bit in bold.
I am unhappy because what everyone else is doing (or at least a good proportion of what people are doing) is impacting me. To give you an example - I felt genuinely sick two months ago and went to have a little lie down in the sick room for two or three times that week. To my horror, I found out at my mid yearly performance review that someone who I have never spoken to in my life and who is not even in my direct team has spoken to my boss about my "inappropriate attitude" towards work because this person thought I had slacked off. This person has never thought of asking me to clarify and when I confronted him about it he bitched to his other co-workers that I was rude and overly aggressive.
This isn't about acting like a woman - its about the fact that incidents like the above aren't isolated and people will throw you under the bus without any good, logical reason.
This is an example of what I'm talking about - i.e. "believe it or not but here are the rules and here's another group that follows the rules".
My response would be: ok...but, is that right approach? Is this how you should choose who to look toward to? <= these are questions I think should be asked.
Just because you have nothing else to live for doesn't mean you should support an environment of hostility or fakery. If anything, given the fact they spend so much time at work...shouldn't they be striving towards creating the best workplace possible?
Not talking about hierarchies as in official positions within the company. I was talking about psychological hierarchies, in which competence is always the fundamental principle.Ha!
Are you 12?
I promise you getting invited to the right BBQ, matters way more then your work.
Not talking about hierarchies as in official positions within the company. I was talking about psychological hierarchies, in which competence is always the fundamental principle.
Also, making sure you get invited to the right BBQ is part of your job if you want to be successful.
My man (woman?) it sounds like you need to start your own company and apply your concepts of how the work climate should be and see how it works out. You have your own ideas about how things should be, regardless of how they truly are, so this might be the best solution for you.
Truthfully, I find it hard to believe that your boss took a 3rd parties word about your performance. I'd be willing to bet this is an easy way for your superior to give you a reasonable critique and shift the blame of the shitty stuff to someone else. You going and lying down during the work day in a sick room...is that normal? I've never even heard of companies having this kind of thing.
Overall sounds like your current job / company isn't the right one for you. Look elsewhere so you don't end up becoming one of those drones who hates their life.
I disagree.And I'm telling you, the work doesn't matter at all. Spend your time where it matters kissing the right ass.
I disagree.
Things work that way because you chose a job that pays $150k/ year right out of college with the potential to make millions in a few years. If you want a more relaxed, less cutthroat job, they exist but you knew what investment banking was going in.. What you're describing isn't normal corporate culture just like getting punched in the face isn't normal work culture. It's normal if you're a UFC fighter though. You chose a very niche job. If you want less hours and a less cutthroat environment, you should be a teacher, an engineer, a government worker, etc. I don't know why you're using investment banking as a general criticism of work culture? That's absurd.The question I am asking is "WHY are things the way they are?"
Also, can you tell me what is wrong about my approach (beyond the fact that it is not the status quo)?
Why are you choosing to focus on the example itself rather than the problem the example is highlighting?
Why is your first reaction to my example skepticism?
I could tell you about how I had a flu the entire week (which at some point led to me having a fever) and, if it weren't so busy, I would have taken sick leave. However ,what I'm more interested in is how you've approached the question.
Investment banking, especially entry level, is also what it is because it's a low or no-skilled job. It's supposedly finance but an engineer, or probably even a woman's study major with a few math and Excel classes, can pick it up as easily as a finance major can. It pays $150K entry level. It potentially pays millions in a few years. Now why would a low or no-skilled job do that? By getting the most intelligent, competitive people to do it. It's a niche culture for a reason.I dont disagree, but leverage isnt extinct. If you have something people want (applied skill, resource, knowledge) then you are valuable. If you are valuable you have leverage
Hey guys
This year is my first in the corporate world and, to be honest, I am a bit shell shock. Not just by the work but more so by the people.
I just can't grasp why people choose to act the way they do and how they manage to find any enjoyment out of it.
For example, let's start with long hours. From an employer's POV, I can understand why they want employees to work as long as possible (to maximise profits). But, if you aren't an equity partner, then why does it matter what time someone in a different team leaves or if someone wants to leave a little "early" after they've finished all their work? Why are people - especially junior staff like myself - so proud of how many hours they've worked? Why is it that people "compete" in such stupidity when all this does is grind on their own mental and physical health?
This feeds into a central theme of the lack of kindness in the corporate world (kindness both to yourself and to others). As children, we are taught lessons like "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't stay it", "just focus on yourself, not others", "be brave and speak up when something is wrong" and " try to put yourself into other people's shoes". These aren't awe-inspiring concepts at all (and are fundamental to creating a safe and comfortable workspace for everyone) yet people don't abide by them.
As adults, we go around constantly monitoring each other, talking smack about each other (always laughing about the "what" instead of asking "why") and - when people see others get bullied - they turn away. Its just...wrong. And the most frustrating part about all of this is that others don't seem to know or care. "Its always been this way" and "that's the rules" aren't valid explanations.There is a better way to do things if only people will put themselves and those around them first rather than profit margins - because, at the end of the day, wealth isn't just monetary.
I can already see the responses calling me doe-eyed, naive etc. but its just terrible for me coming out of a smaller university (where things tend to be quieter and more honest) to my current workplace where a large majority of people seem to be fake and/or mean-spirited. The worse part is that I work with some of the supposedly smartest people in my country...yet is killing yourself and others around you really the intelligent thing to do? I've meet some incredibly narrow-minded people in my life...some of which include the Oxford/Cambridge/NYU/Yale graduates I work with day to day.
I just don't understand their mentality and, as unmanly as it sounds, it hurts me to see people treating themselves and others like that.
I am an investment banker btw.
P.S. My question is in the thread title.
Because the population was growing massively every generation -- ponzie schemes work when there's always a new "investor" to replace the old ones. When the "investor" base gets smaller, they go broke.It blows my mind how 60 years ago many big corporations used to offer pension plans to the average worker.
People that go to good colleges or do trade school do have these skills. The problem is that many people major in woman's studies or major in outdated STEM curriculum at one of the thousands of shitty schools.They expect you have the skills already, even for entry level jobs.
Like medical cost inflation, this is just an American thing.Then throw in college degree inflation and it's no surprise.
It is clear to me that corporate America as a rule, would rather have know-nothings who make half what a competent and educated person would.
Welcome to the adult world, I guess I should call you sir now. I definitely agree with you that it sucks, but in my 25 years of working I have figured out that the only way around it is to run your own business. I did that and it is a ton of work versus working for another entity. The main rule is, we are all playing the same game, you just have to figure out how to stay towards the center of the pack and live by principles that allow you to look at yourself in the mirror. Read the 48 laws of power by Robert greeneHey guys
This year is my first in the corporate world and, to be honest, I am a bit shell shock. Not just by the work but more so by the people.
I just can't grasp why people choose to act the way they do and how they manage to find any enjoyment out of it.
For example, let's start with long hours. From an employer's POV, I can understand why they want employees to work as long as possible (to maximise profits). But, if you aren't an equity partner, then why does it matter what time someone in a different team leaves or if someone wants to leave a little "early" after they've finished all their work? Why are people - especially junior staff like myself - so proud of how many hours they've worked? Why is it that people "compete" in such stupidity when all this does is grind on their own mental and physical health?
This feeds into a central theme of the lack of kindness in the corporate world (kindness both to yourself and to others). As children, we are taught lessons like "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't stay it", "just focus on yourself, not others", "be brave and speak up when something is wrong" and " try to put yourself into other people's shoes". These aren't awe-inspiring concepts at all (and are fundamental to creating a safe and comfortable workspace for everyone) yet people don't abide by them.
As adults, we go around constantly monitoring each other, talking smack about each other (always laughing about the "what" instead of asking "why") and - when people see others get bullied - they turn away. Its just...wrong. And the most frustrating part about all of this is that others don't seem to know or care. "Its always been this way" and "that's the rules" aren't valid explanations.There is a better way to do things if only people will put themselves and those around them first rather than profit margins - because, at the end of the day, wealth isn't just monetary.
I can already see the responses calling me doe-eyed, naive etc. but its just terrible for me coming out of a smaller university (where things tend to be quieter and more honest) to my current workplace where a large majority of people seem to be fake and/or mean-spirited. The worse part is that I work with some of the supposedly smartest people in my country...yet is killing yourself and others around you really the intelligent thing to do? I've meet some incredibly narrow-minded people in my life...some of which include the Oxford/Cambridge/NYU/Yale graduates I work with day to day.
I just don't understand their mentality and, as unmanly as it sounds, it hurts me to see people treating themselves and others like that.
I am an investment banker btw.
P.S. My question is in the thread title.