Something has broken in the investment banking industry. I have worked in this industry for well over a decade and never have I faced such animosity from the younger generation.
It’s harder than ever to get analysts and associates to put in the hours necessary to get the job done. When I explain what is expected of them, I am hit with a barrage of resentment.
Often this is expressed in demeanour rather than words or actions, but sometimes it’s so obvious that I have felt threatened.
This was particularly the case a year or so ago when we made a round of layoffs that impacted some of the juniors on my team. I was blamed for letting them go even though the matter was out of my hands.
I don’t think that young people in banking fully understand what it means to be a managing director (MD).
I am a line MD and not a head of business. I don’t have as much power or as much money as my juniors seem to think. I don’t earn millions of dollars. I don’t live a fancy life. I live with my wife and my two children in a modest house, and I drive a modest sedan car. I am constantly under pressure and always fighting to keep my job.
There’s a particular cohort of juniors who don’t seem to understand this. People who were hired in the pandemic (who are now not so junior) have been particularly aggressive and p*ssed off. I understand where their frustration is coming from. There was a lot of activity and then it went quiet. Many of them have seen their friends laid off.
They blame me. But that’s just what this industry is like. I’ve lost my job repeatedly during my career but I’ve never blamed my boss. I’ve never felt resentful that my boss earns more money than me.
I grew up on welfare with a single mum. I know it’s hard out there, but stop with the hate.
Ryan Booth is the pseudonym of a managing director in an investment bank
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