A Christmas Dilemma
Hey Guys,
Some background:
I'm a first year at a BB. I hate the job. Not all of the time. I fluctuate between hating and barely tolerating it. I know some of you'd kill for this job (for reasons I will never understand), but I ended up having it, so that's that. I honestly think the reason why I hate the job so much is that my group's culture is shit. I didn't want to be in this group, but I was unfortunately selected into it and now I'm stuck until I've at least been at my bank for a year and at that point, it's pretty pointless to transfer groups, I'd basically become another first-year analyst and I would never stay longer than two years, so that's not an option.
Dilemma:
I have a terrible staffer. A villainous staffer. I made a simple request. I asked him/her if I could take Christmas Eve off. What was his/her response? A polite no. The rationale was that it isn't 'typical' for first years to take time off in our group. I think this is complete bull shit. Christmas Eve is a recognized fucking holiday and I can't even use one of my vacation days to ensure that I get home in time to spend enough time with family and friends (I haven't been home for a very long time). I was thinking of just taking a bus home on Christmas Eve morning anyways and if my staffer asked me to come in, I'd tell him/her that this is a [fucking] holiday and that it's really important to my me and my family and ask him/her to ask someone else (there's a jewish kid in my class). Obviously this won't bode well for me. As previously mentioned, my staffer is a villain. Through his vindictiveness, he'd destroy me. I'd get terrible reviews and I would get absolutely nothing out of these miserable two years. I really only have two reasons for why I'm staying: (1) I'm not a quitter; (2) there's a job that I really want after this that will totally be worth sticking it out for. So yeah, I really don't want bad reviews. I'm not aiming for top-bucket, but middle-bucket will be perfectly fine.
Should I stay or go on Christmas Eve? The chances of being called in are very slight, but since I asked my staffer to take a vacation day I am now much more likely to be called in if anything is going down. So is it worth the risk? Am I justified? Should I finally submit my soul to Wall Street and be perfectly willing to work through Christmas?
Thanks,
A Jaded First-Year Analyst
(2) there's a job that I really want after this that will totally be worth sticking it out for.
you have it right there.. be close to office and dont leave. Your family will understand
Why don't you take a sick day AFTER Christmas, this way you still spend time with them, and you can juste jones it at the family house if they have to go work..
I'm sure you're in pain and i really do feel for you as your situation sounds lame, but at the same time, I have to agree with the above.... Be close to the office and get a good review. It's worth it.... Over the long run. You've already come so far and if you look at it plainly it's just not worth it to screw it up now. You're likely angry and sleep deprived and perhaps your thinking is distorted right now.
Pull through it bro.
You're making good money, why not just have your family fly to NYC or NJ so you are very close. That would make all parties happy.
if you hate the job this much, then missing xmas is not a permanent situation you will deal with every year. get through this first year, and things will get easier. don't be a quitter, march on.
You could get fired if you're not there after they specifically told you to be available (btw I totally agree with you; there's a reason I never dropped for BB IBD jobs when I was an undergrad and it was hours/culture). Fly the family in if anything, Christmas in NYC can be nice.
I work to live, I don't live to work. Besides, life is short, and studies show that once you're making $70K/year, money doesn't influence happiness much at all.
I think people that are workaholics have shitty social skills or other types of problems in their personal life that they are trying to escape. Easy to work long hours when your opportunity cost is zero. (There is a difference between a good work ethic and sheer insanity).
I was in the same boat (not at a bank but hated my job) a few years ago, was only sticking around for exit ops and for that highlited reason, i am not a quitter.
Having said that however, i cant imagine spending the 24th at work. I suppose this is what you get as a 1st yr at a BB...but still. Even if i was at the desk that day, i would probably get zero done just out of spite.
Dont look at this as quitting, but as being a rational human being who wants to see family on the 24th. Work a double (aka triple) shift on the 26th, it should be fine.
I think the staffer is being a bitch, but this is what you signed up for. Celebrate Xmas the week after or something. This is the big boy world. There are truckers on the road, people at gas stations working, traveling sales guys, nurses, etc all working on Christmas eve. You are making more than all of them and this job will set you up for a career making multiple amounts more.
Fly the family in or celebrate on another day. Stop being a baby. If I was your staffer and you pulled a stunt like you are thinking about I would see to it that you are fired or receive the worst rec's.
agree 100%. its a bitch move but you have to play their game
Agree with all of the above - it's shitty and your staffer is an asshole, but that's how it goes. Not saying it's right, but it happens to everyone and is part of paying your dues in banking. I or my analyst friends missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, funerals, weddings, birthdays, and more at the office. It happens, tough it out.
If you bail, you'll never hear the end of it and will be living with a staffer that hates you for another 1.5 years. That is not a situation you want to be in. It really wouldn't surprise me if he called you specifically on the 24th just to make sure you were around. Make sure you answer that email and show your face in the office like a good monkey. It's worth it - PE is much better, and in a few years I promise one Christmas in the office won't seem like such a big deal in the rear view mirror.
I missed Thanksgving once and called my aunt to see how it was... she said "you were not there"
FUCK..they didnt even notice I was missing
Unless you're on a live deal with some vital milestone coming up there's really no reason for you to be there on the 24th or 25th. Nobody's going to schedule a pitch for Christmas Day or Sunday the 26th, so I can't imagine why you would have to be in close proximity to the office - at the very least you should be able to go home and take your laptop.
I was a former analyst so I know plenty of horror stories, but that sounds like an excessive request for no reason.
Just get through it. The fact that you're dream job is waiting for you afterwards is what you should be working towards.
I think the better question here is, why does your staffer hate you? Maybe it isn't a result of anything you did, maybe they you just rub them the wrong way, etc, but it might be worth thinking about and seeing if you can address the situation (at least on your end). It's a crappy situation, no doubt, but you have to meet your obligations. What if you ended up fired for this? Do you have other jobs waiting? Are you going to be able to explain why you got canned?
I would work on changing groups. I know you say it isn't worth it, but I had a buddy that was ready to walk out and never do finance again because his group was brutal. He heard about an opening in another group and he took it and now he is as happy as can be (he wants to stay in IB long term). It can make a big difference when the group culture is better and your staffer is nice, etc...so at least consider it.
As far as going home, maybe you can readdress the situation with your staffer. Let him/her know that will be taking a bus, train, whatever and will have the capability to work on things remotely should something come up and that you will be back Sunday to knock out anything needed Monday morning. Maybe reasoning with them won't work, in which case you probably shouldn't risk going home. Best of luck and look into changing groups.
Regards
Great post.
This is the 21st century, work remotely....I'm out of the office from 23rd to 4th Jan but will be checking emails every day and I'll have the crackberry available, why not just do that???
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dude f that, go home for xmas eve. if there's something that really needs to get done, you can do it remotely. no one will be printing books / asking for things to be messengered on xmas eve. tell your staffer to fck off.
_
I am going home but will be available to work if something comes up. Pretty lame that you aren't allowed to just work from home, this is the 21st century after all...
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