Today is my last day as an employee.  Thirty years, eight months and three days come to an end.  Halifax Building Society.  Halifax Plc.  HBOS.  Lloyds Banking Group.

Many who read this blog worked with me along the way.  Some I managed.  Some managed me.  Sorry if I ever pissed you off!  It’s a two way street I suppose!  I’ve been called maverick, cynical, enthusiastic and many other things.  But I pretty much always did what I thought was right.  Thanks to those who’ve been part of it.

Some assisted in making my choice to exit from the company easy.  Allowing garden leave gave me an extra few months to appreciate life without having to worry about work or feel guilt about travelling on a sick note.  You can’t begin to understand how grateful I am for that.

I occasionally wonder about endowments and PPI and if flogging financial services ever had a real purpose.  But then I look at my recent claims experience of similar policies and how important they’ve been to ensuring my financial wellbeing at a stressful time.  A new generation doesn’t even get such products put in front of them these days.

I look at the times when I was appreciated and how good that felt.  And the times I wasn’t appreciated despite making every reasonable effort.  And realise how damaging it is to the soul.  And, of course, the middle ground when you’re allowed to just get on with it.  Scoring annual performance where there’s a game of “who do we put in the shit box?” doesn’t motivate the lowly employee.

I handed my ID card in yesterday.  I can no longer enter the buildings.  But I won’t miss the buildings, the work or the company.  I won’t miss the latest business buzz phrase designed to make an executive sound trendy and with it.  I won’t miss the never ending restructures which I hated with a passion but, ultimately, gave me the most timely pay off I could have asked for having somehow previously survived the halving of staff numbers over a decade.

I already miss the people though.  And my kids will miss the £330,000 of life cover if I survive past midnight tonight!

When You Have Everything and More Comes Along