Not allowed to take vacation as AN 1? Is this normal?
I’m an analyst 1 at a BB in nyc, started a few months ago. Job has been going well, but my group told me that first years aren’t expected to take any days off (not even a single Friday here and there) unless it’s a special circumstance like a family wedding/death of a loved one/etc…
Obviously I’m entitled to vacation days as per my contract, but it seems like they’ll just give me a lower bonus if I do that, especially if other first years aren’t really taking a day off either.
Thoughts? Does this happen at other big banks?
I’m at a BB in nyc and my staffer encourages us to take all allotted vacation days.
Take days off. Dont let them bully you like that.
You will 100% be fired if you ever take a day off as a banker. Don’t listen to people telling you otherwise. It’s grind 24/7 and you will have to miss your own wedding(s), funerals and your children’s births. It’s the life you’ve chosen so no bitching.
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Bunch of incels on this thread that can’t tell it’s sarcasm lol
The emotional intelligence of a tea spoon.
confirmed - missed my own funeral for a live deal
Used to work at a BB in two different coverage groups. The first group absolutely punished me for taking a week and a half off in January (mind you the only vacation I took in my first 13 months…), it caused some restaffings and the A / VP on one deal held a grudge against me until the day I left the group after that
in my second group as an N2 / A1, they got mad at me for *not* taking all of my time off haha so yea YMMV
Fuck the banks and these dumb unwritten rules. I made the mistake of not using all my vacation days last year and this year all of it is going to be taken. Banks will cast you aside without a second thought so you are a clown if you think not taking any time for yourself is going to boost your reputation.
Just give plenty of notice, and use explicit language like “I am going to be on PTO…” rather than “would it be okay if I take PTO”. It’s in your contract bro. It’s on you if you don’t use it.
This is awful and not standard policy (either at banks where I have friends or at HFs where I have worked). It is bad management. If you can’t deal with an analyst being out for a few days (or even a week) here and there, you have a crap process and team. You are telling me if this analyst quit that you are F’d? No, if not you’d pay them more, you just can’t manage their absence well or in a way that isn’t a minor inconvenience. It’s either that or you are holding on to some silly “well I did it therefore you should too”. Either way, long term it’s so stupid (but in a way so is the 2 year program) because it leads to no long term (or even short term) retention (but again, due to a 2 year programs some banks won’t care). With a policy like this an analyst is likely to leave after a year, now you just spent a year training this person, they are finally decently productive and they leave, all because you wanted to squeeze a few weeks out of them, the level of stupidity is off the charts (some will argue “well we only want people who grind working here long term”, fine but you are quickly running out of people).
I monitor the vacation of the people that work for me, but to make sure that they are hitting a minimum (target about 20 days a year) not because I don’t expect them to take days off.
Do you have them stating this in email? After you leave your bank I would contact HR and state that you want to be compensated for those days. If not, you can go to the Department of Labor and file a complaint. The Department of Labor does not fuck around when it comes to denying vacation days, and not only will you get compensated for those days, your bank will incur a fine. Department of Labor will also side with you, so if you don't have proof of them denying your days, you'll still win. If possible, try to get a paper trail exhibiting this toxic policy.
this happened to me on my first year as well.. def nothing in email but 100% its the shitbag hardo associates / VPa that went thru it when they first started and now wants to push it onto new 1st years.. they legit brag about working so much or not taking leave like wtf bro get a life
they ingrain it in the group culture that 1st years shouldnt take annual leave and will make anyone who takes it feel like shit, hate IB coz of shit like this... "oh wow i cant believe AN1 is taking a two weeks break in his first year.. never in my life have i done that let alone as an AN1" like ok ur problem man lol
For real man. Some of these associate hardo fucks will try HARD to guilt trip you because they can’t find balance in their own lives.
It’ll be 8pm and my associate will message me shit like “haven’t eaten all day, gonna step away for 5” like okay bro, that’s your problem.
When I started as an analyst at Solomon Partners we use to have “flex Fridays” twice per month, were you’d work from home.
First Tuesday of each month was “Taco Tuesday” and the last Thursday of the month was “movie nights”
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For fucks sake, you joined an investment bank, not a 9-5 corporate job. You won’t be able to take all your days of holiday, and so many other things that are in your contract. Stop being a fucking crybaby and grow some balls. If you don’t like it, join all the other fuckers that are getting fired.
The normal thing is to ASK PERMISSION to take days off, to be prudent, and to give priority to the classes above you. So when you just join, you typically work until the interns arrive before taking vacation. There are exceptions (weddings, erc.)
You alright there? Someone bully you as a child and now need to take it out on others?
This is exactly the problem with the industry. You don’t even read the original response, the person isn’t asking for anything unreasonable they are saying their group says “no vacation” regardless. It’s not about asking permission or being thoughtful about what work is going on, but just “no”. That’s a stupid policy, especially when work is slow. Being in the office isn’t always value adding.
Then you have your response that is angry at the world for no reason. This person didn’t ask for handmade guac in the pantry, but rather to take days off. Surprisingly (or not at all if you understand anything) taking time off can have employees be more productive, make fewer mistakes, etc. You actually gain productivity when you have “good” employees take needed breaks (and that’s disregarding the other benefits like retention, etc).
I’ve been in finance (and HFs) for over 15 years. I work my ass off but have always taken vacation when needed. It’s never impacted my career.