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THE INSIDER: How it feels to be a survivor

17 March 2009

George Trower

I am daring to be optimistic. Last year, banks made 20-30% of their staff redundant. This year, many have followed up with another round of cuts. I’m still around. So how does it feel?

My main feelings are a combination of humility and cautious relief, and I don’t think I’m alone in this.

Anyone who has watched a neighbouring desk get obliterated, or watched colleagues from their own desk get fired, cannot but feel some sense of fortune, of there but for the grace of God go I.

With whole institutions like Lehman going down, it’s no longer just about capable and incapable individuals, it’s also about the lottery of which bank you work for. Even the most arrogant and self-assured have learned to doubt.

Personally, I always find it saddest when someone who is in the latter stages of their career is let go. This is particularly the case if they have been part of the same institution for years and have become ‘part of the furniture.’ Contrary to popular myth, many still need to work - they have families to support and mortgages to pay.

I have less sympathy for the younger guys. It’s still tough for them, of course, but their whole careers are yet to come. And you know what? It’s probably not a bad thing for some of these kids to feel the sharper edge.

The atmosphere among us survivors remains tense. Despite a decent start to the year, the general view is that more rounds of redundancies are likely. There’s no real sign of a recovery yet and few believe it will happen before 2010.

This crisis has thrown a wild card into the mix: government. For those institutions that have taken government (OK, if I must, ‘taxpayer’) money, the future is highly uncertain. Governments themselves don’t seem to know what they’re going to do.

As a survivor I am therefore taking the long term view. The next part of the cycle may be a while in coming.

Comments (29)

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• Personally, I always find it saddest when someone tries to disguise gloating as sympathy.

  Redundant Richard 17 Mar 2009

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• Richard,
  
  George Trower is what is known in our business as the "the velvet hammer". Deliver that brutal blow of gloating by disguising it, veiling it. Masterfully done.

  Baker 17 Mar 2009

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• Just sickening.

  nooneyouknow 17 Mar 2009

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• If you are at the end of your career, you would hopefully get a higher payout and less likely to have family/mortgages to support.
  
  The younger guys, perhaps those in their 30s, are more likely to have massive mortgages, fewer savings and young families.

  HB 17 Mar 2009

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• I'm a survivor (what),
  I'm not gonna give up (what),
  I'm not gon' stop (what),
  I'm gonna work harder (what),
  I'm a survivor (what),
  I'm gonna make it (what),
  I will survive (what),
  Keep on survivin' (what),
  I'm a survivor (what),
  I'm not gonna give up (what),
  I'm not gon' stop (what),
  I'm gonna work harder (what),
  I'm a survivor (what),
  I'm gonna make it (what),
  I will survive (what),
  Keep on survivin' (what)...

  Henry 17 Mar 2009

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• Unpleasant individual, this Trower character.

  Redundant 17 Mar 2009

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• Perhaps some of us in our latter years have less obligations but we still have the drive and the desire to keep going.  More importantly, some of us have exactly the experience and knowledge needed at this time. Of course, years “on the job" do not, in and of themselves, translate into knowledge, much less “wisdom.”  One needs to use the experiences of these years as a catalyst for change.  The pity is that we may not be able to use these skills at this critical time.

  Ed Lord 17 Mar 2009

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• I'd like to see a follow up article by Trower after he has been made redundant. What fun!

  Avid reader 17 Mar 2009

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• Don't worry, I'm sure that George will be the next to go.

  Jay 17 Mar 2009

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• "Even the most arrogant and self-assured have learned to doubt."
  
  Nope! Watching rubbish people get laid off whilst my career carries on down the fast-track has made me more self-assured than ever before.

  Henry 17 Mar 2009

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