"I work for a big bank in Canary Wharf. The screens don't work on the trading floor"
I am a lowly IT contractor at a major international bank at Canary Wharf. I am paid well, but not spectacularly, and it now seems that as the bank tries to cut costs, I must take on board some of its hardware spending.
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Specifically, I have had to buy cables. For a long time, I have been faced with a situation where many of the screens on the trading floor don't work properly. If you also work for this bank, you will understand what I mean. There are insufficient cables on level four.
When I started with the bank, my contract was for remote work. However, this changed when the bank decided that it wanted everyone in the office. It then became apparent that many of the screens on the trading floor didn't have cables to connect my laptop.
This was a source of frustration. I would book a desk in advance but when I arrived I would find that there was no cable. I would then have to walk around trying to spy a screen with a cable and hoping that when I found one, the desk would not be occupied.
At one point I asked the floor manager for help. She did not offer any assistance but said I should ask my colleagues. I asked my colleagues, and they told me that they have to buy their own cables. Like them, I have now purchased my own, which I guard carefully.
Welcome to banking jobs in 2025.
Ian Byrd is a pseudonym
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