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Hi, I have an offer for the position of Senior Associate at pwc AC Bangalore. Can you please tell if there is a permanent wfh and will they give it in writing. And how is the WLB at PWC AC Bangalore. Is it true that I will have to frequently work late at night. Is the shift timings 9 to 6 as the hr told me or it usually extends? Pwc AC PwC
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I've been on a reduced schedule at a top 10 firm for over 10 years. There are definitely pros and cons, as there are to everything. I am 100% certain though that I would not still be in public accounting without it. I have 4 kids and was not ever going to be okay working a traditional busy season and being the kind of mom I want to be (and fulfilling my role as a mom is more important to me.) I was climbing the ladder fast before I had kids, and sometimes it's frustrating to think what could have been when I see other people's promotions, but I still think this was the best choice for me. As far as actual hours, when you start a reduced schedule, you need to be very mindful of what work is being removed from your schedule - Going to 60%? Remove 40% of client hours. And then reassess at least annually. I've adjusted my schedule at various times as my kids got older. When they were babies, I worked 24 hours two quarters of the year and 32 hours the other two quarters based on deadlines. This enabled me to have a day or two every week that I was home in my pajamas with my babies, or taking them to parks and the zoo. I wouldn't trade those days for the world - full disclosure, we are still a deadline-based business, and I did my best to schedule meetings on my work days, but took plenty of calls on my off days to keep things moving - many of my clients didn't know I was part time because I gave as much flexibility as I received. Now that my kids are all in school, my schedule fluctuates more between 32-36 hours/week. I work every day, but shorter days. If I'm at a client or the office, I usually do a full day and my kids either go to after school care or someone else picks them up, but on my WFH days, I pick them up straight from school and bring them home. So what's the bad? This is really still a deadline-based business. I don't get to turn off my week just because I worked a certain number of hours. I have still pulled all-nighters. I've worked 70+ hour weeks. A couple years when we had all the extra audits for covid funding and lost too many team members, I worked a good bit more than my planned annual hours. But that's the exception. Most weeks, I stick to my hours. Most years, I'm close to my planned annual hours. And I have been able to be at so many more things with my kids all these years. I like that I can be the mom that drives my kids' friends to practice when their parents are stuck at work. That was maybe long-winded, but it really can be a great option.
Lower pay, same hours
I struggle in terms of feeling like I'm doing my part and keeping up with my peers, but I need it for my health and longevity in this career. I've gotten support from my teams, but at the beginning, I had to be upfront and set expectations around changes delegation and availability.
I’ve seen it at the manager, senior manager and PPMD level. I don’t think it works that well overall. It’s a client serving industry and you have to work to meet their deadlines, which does not mesh well with a reduced schedule. I’ve seen two outcomes, one where the employee on a reduced schedule works so much overtime that they effectively work a full schedule, and two where the employee doesn’t work any overtime beyond their reduced hours and leaves others on their team to pick up the slack.
No one is hourly or getting overtime at a big 4 (besides interns)
I don’t personally, but I’ve heard mixed reviews. Some people love it, especially if they can find a role with flexibility, but others find it challenging due to workload fluctuations. It really depends on the firm and the specific team you’re on. Are you considering this option for work-life balance?
My former employer offered me to work part time, I said no, he fired me right before my maternity leave. Two other employees (one senior manager and one senior associate) had 5-10 billable hours weekly during non-tax seasons.
I do - you have to set boundaries and make your day off truly your day off. I do have to work more hours during our busy time, so far it’s working for me but they are still adding to my plate as well.
You have to plan ahead and be very strategic about your time. I saw it work for people who have clear boundaries with when they are available and when not. It works if you put your mind to it and your employer has this a common practice.
I’ve seen it done poorly and done well. You have to be really good at two things, commutation and boundaries. Most people fail with the reduced schedule because they do not communicate timelines to set expectations with clients or managers and above so expectations remain the same as if they were full time. Then the person will be “flexible” with their boundaries and work extra to make up for this. Eventually I’ve seen where the person is basically doing the full time hours but at the reduced wage and benefits they agreed to. Firm culture is also important, if nobody is going to respect and help you with your boundaries then you will fail.
I have definitely seen it work at all levels and people be very happy but the communication and boundaries are the difference makers I have noticed.