Crazy long hours:
Be prepared for extremely long hours, especially during busier periods. I’ve frequently left the office past 9pm, even on a Friday. Note also that this is EXPECTED from you, to be able to complete your work. There is little appreciation from the company if you do these long hours, as it is just expected at this point. I’ve seen multiple people join the function and leave within a couple of months, because the hours are so ridiculous. They might say to you in the interview “there’s a couple of late nights”. There will probably be 5+ late nights every single month, and you will be required to be in the office for all of these.
Un-flexibility:
I didn’t find there was enough flexibility for me, it might work for you though. You can get flexibility some of the time, but not with any consistency, so it’s hard to rely on it. I think this is dependent on your team though as some have it better / worse.
Lack of annual leave approval:
It’s not always easy to always get the annual leave you want off. This isn’t literally all the time, but you will probably get some rejected. There are so many deadlines, which means you can’t get the time off you want. As an example, I requested a couple of weeks off for December 2024 (requested in December 2023) and it was rejected. I gave 12 months notice and it was still rejected. Don’t expected any time off during month-end either as there is far too much work to do (hence the long hours).
Unable to take all of Christmas off:
Even though I had the annual leave available, I wasn’t able to take all of the Christmas period off. I was told I had to work a day over Christmas and it also had to be in the office, not from home. You’ll be expected to ‘cover’ for your team being in the office over the period, so that means driving in on a random day to sit there by yourself. Just something to bear in mind, and gives a bit of an insight to the culture.
Crazy long hours:
I’ve put this twice, as I really want to stress to you how many hours you’re going to have to do. I’ve done so many 14+ hour days now I’ve lost count. You’ll literally be sat there at 8pm and someone will ask you “is the work going to be completed tonight”.
