I know many people who have been saving up their annual leave with the hope that they could travel for Christmas, only to end up still stuck in Hong Kong during the holiday season.
One senior trader I know has had enough of staycations, and decided to get away anyway.
He planned to spend three weeks on leave in France, enjoy Christmas there, and then work from France for a month, before returning to Hong Kong and undergoing its rigorous three-week quarantine. It seemed a perfect plan — and one that was approved by his manager.
But it wasn’t to be. His bank’s compliance team rejected the plan because the firm does not have a licence to trade in France. Undeterred, the chap simply decided to take the whole month of January off. Again, this was approved by his manager.
What followed was unexpected: learning from the best, his junior team members quickly followed suit, asking his permission for a long holiday.
Not wanting to come across as a hypocrite, he had no choice but to sign off one-month breaks for some in his team.
Naturally, other teams followed, leading to an almost empty office in December, save for a few young graduates who will have to work through Christmas. A classic situation of really learning from the boss.