Pros
- Organisational culture - majority of people genuinely care about what we do helping the public and playing our part in ensuring financial services, which are so important to our economy, function well.
- Competitive salaries and core benefits package, esp. for public sector and, where we're not as lucrative of the private sector, the benefits of being part of the public sector (job security, good HR practices, work-life balance) tend to balance these out in my opinion.
- Gorgeous offices and facilities (London office in Canary Wharf is a delight with a subsidised 16th floor cafe with views for miles over London and a free on-site gym)
- Good work-life balance - reliably work my contracted hours most of the time/ can always make weekday evening plans, and no pressure to check emails on evenings and weekends.
- Some excellent enhanced benefits e.g. maternity leave is 6 months on full pay albeit not a day 1 benefit, generous sick pay and income protection if you ever need it.
- Completely reasonable, probably now better than average, position on hybrid working (2 days a week if you're full-time)
- Diverse and inclusive workforce and culture - do not seem to have the same constant challenges and unchecked biases that I've experienced in other organisations.
Cons
- Change context - This is an organisation that hasn't evolved very much since its creation and as a result will be changing quite rapidly in the next few years and that's not for everyone.
Career progression - it's not that there aren't opportunities to develop and grow your career at FOS but some roles are quite unique and as a result people who want to stay in them might feel less able to progress.