≡ Menu

Winning The Work Game

I was interested to read that Asset Manager GLG Partners recently hired GB Cyclings Shane Sutton in an attempt to maximise the benefits they get from their fund managers and staff.

I’m sure you’re aware but Shane Sutton has been a key part of British Cycling’s hugely successful team that  revolutionised the British Cycling team. Their approach was to make lots of small improvements in all aspects of their riders lives. A few examples:

  • On major stage races the team started taking their riders own mattresses with them on the team bus to avoid any sleepless nights caused by poor mattresses in dodgy French hotels
  • Encouraging team members to maintain the highest levels of personal hygiene to avoid picking up unnecessary infections
  • Using advanced aerodynamics to save riders fractions of a % of effort
  • Optimizing rider nutrition to the nth degree
  • Cleaning tyres with alcohol spray to improve their stickiness to the track

The idea was that when you made multiple small gains which on their own were insignificant, added together the benefits could be huge. The success of the British team over the last 10 or so years obviously showed the approach worked very well.

No Shane Here!

It’s quite surprising really when you think of the vast sums of money spent on getting the best out of athletes in sports such as cycling or football yet the men and women that make the big money for their firms in the financial industry can expect little ‘help’ from their employers to go with their large pay cheques.

At my employer, aside from monetary compensation, there is little to no extra support provided to staff. Essentially we get paid (well) and are expected to perform with excellence at all times.

Sure we get private health insurance which fixes our desk bound bad backs and treats our work induced depression but these are reactionary measures not proactive ones.

Off the top of my head there are certainly a few things that would make dramatic improvements to my productivity at work:

Training. Seriously! Amazingly my firm has never sent me on a training course that teaches me the technicalities of my trade (Market Risk Management). I don’t have a degree in it, I didn’t study it at school and I certainly have no post graduate qualification in it. All of my skills have been learnt in the field, through trial and error or from colleagues.

I’ve never been offered any training courses to better me at my ‘chosen’ profession. The best I’ve had is the occasional fluffy soft skills nonsense that most big firms trot out every now and then (before stopping when they next have to reduce their cost base).

Can you imagine Manchester United not dragging Wayne Rooney away from his PlayStation to train on weekday mornings? Well I’m Wayne and the only time I kick a ball is on match day!

Truly performance related pay. See the bonus day game for more details.

Flexible Working. Ability to work from home freely ‘without guilt’ whenever I want would be a massive boost to me. I work long hours and travel far (through my own choice admittedly). Having the ability to decide from where and when I work would help me to stay motivated, improve efficiency and get the job done to a higher standard.

Work Share. I’d gladly work 3 days a week and take a pro-rated salary. Unfortunately management in my industry are stuck in their arcane ways and think that if you’re not sat at your desk for 50 or 60 hours a week you’re not doing your job properly.

Decent IT. Last month my email program was ‘upgraded’ from Lotus Notes to Outlook 2007! Working for a firm that has grown over many years via acquisitions generally means you’re stuck with crap IT systems. In my average working week I encounter computational limitations or technological deficiencies many many times. Give me more processors and I’ll be able to do a better job, simples.

Promote Exercise. There is a huge lack of bike parking at work. In a firm of many thousands I reckon there are parking for about 300 bicycles (max) which is pretty appalling (the one plus here is that there is a subsidised gym that costs just £20 per month).

Provide Healthy Food. I’m stuck in my office a hell of a lot. Unfortunately my current workload dictates that more often than not lunch is eaten at my desk. The only snacks on offer in the office are either made from chocolate or are some form of deep fried potato and you have to pay for them. Unlike many new tech companies which aim to provide their staff with food we’re left to our own devices.

How to Win The Work Game

My firm doesn’t really give a shit about me, this is very clear. The firm’s priority is the big shareholders not the low level workers like myself. By recognising this, I’m able to prioritise my well being and future over my employers. Here are some of the ways I try and keep the balance:

Me time. I have 3 re-occurring  ‘meetings’ (lasting 1.5 hours) booked out in my diary every week. This time is used to either go the the gym or venture outside for a run. These meetings always take priority over conference calls or other real work distractions. Taking this exercise time ensures I get some proper exercise during the week, not just a quick 15 mins on a cross trainer like most of my colleagues. It makes me feel fresher, more alert and on top of my game.

Food time. I try to ensure I maintain a healthy diet despite the poor options available at work.

More me time. During quiet periods at work I work on personal projects. If I’m expected to be checking my Blackberry on a Saturday afternoon then it’s only fair I can use a quiet Friday afternoon for my own purposes from time to time. Personal projects might things like researching new investments, preparing my tax return spreadsheet or even writing posts for this site!

Learn. I ensure I take every opportunity to read and learn everything and anything at work that will help me become a better investor outside of work. As part of my job I get access to Bloomberg, Reuters and other news services from which I can improve my knowledge and investment skills. Through work I’ve also learnt to think of my own finances as if I were a business.

Whenever possible I’ll also take some time out to practise my photography of a lunchtime. When I quit work I plan to earn some income from my photography skills (I occasionally get a few paid gigs on the side now) so I’m always trying to improve may skills.

Office Prison

Don’t forget the money. Working in Finance means I’m well paid. As you can tell above it is about the only benefit I receive from my employer. I certainly don’t come to work for the pleasant work environment or the job satisfaction.

Every month I try to maximise the benefit to me by ensuring a savings rate north of 55%. Oh and naturally I’m always on the look out for new ways to to squeeze the cheese.

Just like a farmer I need to make hay while the sun is shining so while I’m in this high income phase of my life I’m building the money tree as fast as possible.

{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Huw November 22, 2014, 8:12 am

    Hi UTMT,

    You really don’t like your job do you!

    Your post has helped me understand that I have a good job at a great company. Your description is almost the exact opposite of what I experience on a day to day basis. I haven’t had a great week at work this week but your post has helped me appreciate what a great company I work for.

    My salary is low, and because it’s commission based it fluctuates every month. It hovers around the £30k mark now. This is an above average wage for the town that I work in.
    My company have a Learning & Development Dept. who constantly roll out all types of courses to develop employees. Even if the course is unrelated to what you’re doing in your job you’re still encouraged to attend.
    It’s equally inflexible when it comes to working at home and work share though. That said, I work 8.30am – 5.00pm. As I live 10 mins away on a bike, I’m usually home 5.15pm.
    The company doesn’t provide any food, just tea, coffee, sugar and milk. I end up making a packed lunch every day.
    They do promote exercise though. They installed a gym with rowing machine, treadmill, cross trainer, and weights bench. We’re able to use it free of charge and they’ll give you a key to use it in the morning, evening or weekend (pretty damn good!)

    Money is a big factor for me. I feel I’m capable of having a job that brings in much more money, and there are other sales jobs around. I’m not sure any of them compete with how great my current company are though. If I’m going to be working for another 8 years, I want to enjoy it to some degree. This idea swirls around my head (usually after a bad day/week) every few months. Would I prepared to have a job and lose most of this for a better wage and potentially earlier retirement? At the moment it’s a no…..

    Great talking point though, and thanks for sharing. I think you’re going about it the right way too. Looking after yourself and focusing on what you can gain during your time is healthy because you aren’t in a reciprocating relationship with your employer. It looks like I am more so, but if I were in your position, I would try and do the same.

    All the best with it all!
    Huw

    • Under The Money Tree November 22, 2014, 9:01 am

      Huw,
      Yes, maybe the post was a little negative but it’s essentially how i feel about work. My usual response when a friend or family member asks how work is going is:

      “Well, i keep turning up and they keep paying me.”

      Having read your comments my recommendation would be to stay where you are if you’re happy. I would gladly trade some of my salary for a much better working environment and support system like you appear to have. I find it amazing how little effort these big finance firms make with regard to making their employees happy.

      My employer gladly wastes millions of pounds a year on all sorts of nonsense which brings no tangible benefit to the firm. They did introduce a fruit basket in our area about a year ago then stopped it after about 3 months to cut costs – unbelievable and completely de-motivating when at the same time they are spending hundreds of thousands on surrounding us with consultants at the same time!

      Anyway, enough of my moaning for now!

      Good luck and have a great weekend,
      UTMT

      • weenie November 24, 2014, 11:26 pm

        I’m with Huw – the only thing the company I work for could improve on is IT (we’ve just upgraded to Outlook 2010, so a bit ahead of you!) – on a weekly basis, I always lose my internet or the phones are not working, or systems are down. But aside from that, it’s all pretty good.

        Sorry to hear about all the other stuff, including the fruit basket thing – we’ve had our fresh fruit for a while now and it’s very popular with employees.

        Some companies just don’t realise that even small things can make a big difference.

        • Under The Money Tree November 25, 2014, 10:44 am

          Weenie,
          As you highlight it is the small things that make the difference. I truly believe it wouldn’t taker a lot to make me a much happier work bunny and both the firm and myself would win.

  • Phil England November 24, 2014, 9:33 am

    As a computer programmer I’ve worked for a variety of newer companies, start-ups and more established companies…some employee loving and a few that were not. Trends do seem to exist between flexibility and employee engagement, and the difference it can make to productivity is quite profound.

    I have been working at home for a start-up for the last 6 months and the difference this has made to my productivity and work habits have been interesting. Especially during busy periods, I’m surprised at how many extra hours I’ve been willing to work. I’m admittedly well rewarded financially, but I also enjoy my job, I work for good people and feel valued. I am engaged. The key to this motivation and most of these positives feelings are down to the fact that my job is a results game. I’m not judged by the hours I work but by the products I build and my technical expertise.

    This is very important for me. I’ve never been afraid to leave a job if I didn’t feel valued or engaged. Money is important, but job satisfaction cannot be purchased. If you can have both, you should strive for that. If you already have both, then as long as it fits with your career progression then keep hold of it for as long as possible.

    Coincidentally, I worked for a company that Shane Sutton was involved with. A very interesting character. Amusing, quirky and clearly very driven.

    • Under The Money Tree November 24, 2014, 10:20 am

      Phil,
      I fully agree. My wife works at the same firm as I do but has more flexibility around working from home. When she does, she tends to work harder and longer than when she’s in the office.

      You’ve hit the nail on the head – the bureaucracy I work in means I’m not rewarded on performance. I’ve had years when I’ve worked my guts out, really delivered and received minimal a bonus. I’ve also had years when I’ve coasted through and got much more than I deserved. That’s the bit that annoys me most.

      Re Shane – I saw him on the documentary about Bad Wiggins a while ago. He certainly seems like an interesting cvharacter!

  • sparkle bee January 10, 2015, 4:42 pm

    Hi UTMT
    I work in IT and have had the ‘pleasure’ of working for a number of companies under this same position and culture. Yes, I am in the IT department – but – no, you cannot upgrade the IT systems, you have to make the existing crumbling system work, ‘sweat the assets’ as one of my old bosses used to say. You have to make the existing system do what the new version does without upgrading.
    After a while you cannot carry on doing this and the Star Trek Scotty “She canna take any more, captain. She’s gonna blow!” comment eventually appears and once the system really has crashed for real, do the management take notice and some money is budgeted. They don’t like the “I told you so” comment either – bad for your promotion prospects.

    I am now working in a company where it took 2 months to just get a phone on my desk! Yes, they have ran out and going through the ‘leavers list’ to re-allocate. Great when you are working with external suppliers and so its go and borrow someone’s desk phone or email – STUPID!
    Recently, co-workers have started talking about how bullying and ‘deaf’ the management is there. I have just seen this in action in a recent meeting – just what I didn’t want in this job.

    I now have a big incentive to reach FI and as I am only on 1 weeks notice for at least the first year, I could leave quickly if I decide that FI is achievable. I am not far off and I could take a break and then maybe look at another job? If the FI picture is not as healthy as I thought.

    I don’t know what I will do when I leave work though, as I have been so 8hr+ working days for so long plus odd weekends, I have no proper hobby or outside interests. I need to work on my drawing and photography too (my first degree was in Art!) with no decent job prospects when I finished I got a job in IT. My thinking was I could earn enough money to eventually go back to it [I didn’t think of it as FI in those days].
    I am considering getting a dog (young/pup, which needs training) so I have a reason to get out, train it and provide a routine to my day. I have always wanted a dog but the working hours really didn’t fit having a such a pet before.

    It has been the ‘fear factor’ that has stopped me walking out of a job that has not valued or engaged me, “how would I pay my bills?” has always been the crippling fear holding me back, plus the lack of confidence that I would not get another job easily. Only my first employer provided IT skills training and I have never had any update IT training paid for by my employer ( I used my own money a few times!) just the ‘soft skills’ you mention, which as you say disappear when money needs to be saved.

    With FI in sight and passive income available I can do this now. My only debt is my BTL mortgage which is being covered by the rental fees.

    We all forget that we only live once – don’t want to spend all that time tied to the office desk.
    We all forget those lost hours of pleasure with family and ‘moments’ in time that will never repeat.
    We forget what is important in life and lose it to the pressures from misguided society ‘rules’.

    Good luck everyone with your FI goals.

    • Under The Money Tree January 10, 2015, 6:30 pm

      SparkleBee,

      Very wise words. It sounds like your work environment is similar to mine. I’ve found 10 years of office have crippled my creativity so this year I’m determined to redress the balance.

      I think your point about only living twice is crucial. Money is not the be all and end all once you have basic shelter, good health and food on the table. After that it tends to provide dimishing returns.

      I too really want a dog but can’t justify it while we’re out of the house for so long every day. It;s one of the first things I’ll do when I’m FI.

      I look forward to reading about your march towards FI…sounds like you’re not too far off at all! Good luck and see you on the other side 😉

Leave a Comment