Think it depends on the type of consultancy and the management team. For the last 10yrs ive worked in engineering consultancy and whilst there are the odd few peaks in work, I really dont like anyone working more than 45hrs a week on a regular basis.The first consultancy I worked for post-grad I worked 60-70 hour weeks for 18 months for £24k pa.
That was required in order to carry out the workload with the tools at our disposal. Finally resigned and told them where to go with no job to go to. Moved around a fair bit since but that's what has been required to find the right amount of workload and increase my salary.
OP, Genuine question, how do you feel now you have taken the plunge and handed the notice in?
Are you feeling relieved or nervous about the future?
I was actually on sick pay relatively recently for treatment and in that case they made an “exception to the policy” to continue to pay me fully while that was sorted.
That’s another problematic thing in my view - whether you get the exception or not clearly depends on how much they like /value you. Not sure that’s even legal tbh… didn’t question it at the time because I ultimately benefited from it.
Great news, hope it all works out for you.Honestly, I feel great, like an enormous weight has been lifted. I’ve really been struggling on at this job for about two years, I used to think quitting was giving up - I’m quite stubborn - but I’ve come to accept that occasionally life will deal you a situation where you are set up to fail through no fault of your own.
Time will tell but I have to be optimistic that I’ll look back in a year or two and think it’s the best decision I could have made. I’m a great believer that nothing that is really worth doing is ever easy - sometimes you have to struggle. So far I’ve gotten lucky in life, I have a great family and support network, a wife who believes in me more than I do (no I’m not posting pics). We’ve got a bit of savings, it helps that my wife is a doctor so earns well. We can afford to take the odd measured risk.
A couple of points based on what people have been discussing. Firstly, my company is a smaller specialist consultancy but it is owned by one of the big ones. The CEO reports into them. I’ll happily provide feedback but I’d like to find a way to ensure it goes to them. The unofficial whispering into people’s ears happens a lot, I don’t trust talking to any of our ExCo because either via official or unofficial routes I reckon it will find its way to him and I might end up with a horses head in my bed.
The whole thing about working ridiculously long hours is par for the course in consultancies. Back in 2020 I was working on one project with a Californian firm and another in Singapore simultaneously, so I was up at 5am to speak to teams in Singapore and I would stay online until 11pm to have a call with somebody in LA. These “sprints” don’t always last that long, a few weeks at a time, but when they hit you they are brutal. Yes, it pays very well, but there’s a certain amount of selling your soul to the devil involved. We had to change our timesheet systems recently because they only went up to 12 hours per day and people were regularly exceeding that.
Finally, a bit of good news to end on. I sent a few enquiries out over the weekend and applied for a few roles (honestly slightly out of anger with the message I received). I have an initial interview on Thursday for a role in a different industry but it is one I’ve worked with a lot so understand well. Very early days but will see how that goes. Gives me a lot of confidence I can find something if people are responding that quickly.
Think it depends on the type of consultancy and the management team. For the last 10yrs ive worked in engineering consultancy and whilst there are the odd few peaks in work, I really dont like anyone working more than 45hrs a week on a regular basis.
Putting in lots of hours is OK if you're in a very senior role, earn a commensurate salary, along with preferably share options and/or a five figure bonus.
Its face fits.
Same at my company, took a few days last month as covid was doing the rounds right across the office. 4 people off in total over a 3 week period for 2/3 days.
I got my pay docked, the other 3 didn’t.
Go figure?
Totally agree. I don't work more than 40 hours now, learned the hard way very young in my career that hard work isn't rewarded.
Don't think I'll ever try and progress to Director or Partner level, the successful ones I see at that level it is genuinely their life. The main topic of conversation for them out of work is work, they're all divorced or unmarried. Fuck going away with the wife and answer calls on the beach.
I’m the level below Partner and let me tell you… I don’t want to be promoted. I can’t imagine a more miserable existence.
Wow, that’s really fucked up - maybe worth an anonymous tip to whoever the labour body is in your jurisdiction? I can’t see such an open and shut example like that being allowed - though I know fighting these things seems like more trouble than it’s worth.
In my case I don’t have any counter examples of people being off ill long-term and not getting paid. Our policy will cover you for the odd day/week off, it’s only long term sickness that will be a problem and there’s not that many examples. There was one other guy in my time there who had mental health issues but he was also well respected so got a similar treatment.
As I always understood it, management consultants were generally well paid but they were very high pressure jobs. I might be wrong but I’m sure I read somewhere that PwC had people working 10hr days as the norm, which is fine if you’re self employed and reaping the rewards but as an employee not so great. The likes of Deloitte and KPMG were no better.