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Working less can lead to a new-found appreciation of your job. – Nicolas Zahnd explains
16/03/20
Nicolas works 60% with us, as a contractor in Tax and Legal Services in Zurich. For him one of the best things he has done so far was quitting PwC in 2011. Want to know why? Read on:
How do you live your flexibility deal?
My deal is that I am an external contractor. I not only work part-time at 60%, but also have the freedom to work from any place I want, as long as I get the assigned work done, which is a pretty special deal at PwC. Because of this arrangement I have travelled a lot recently. I have been to South East Asia, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Spain, but of course, I worked from these places. I regularly come back to meet the team and work with them in Switzerland too. So far, this deal has worked out fantastically for me. Right now, I have been in Switzerland for around 3 months, working intensively on our current project. I enjoy that a lot, but I have to say that I am already looking forward to going to my next destination as well.
What’s your best career advice?
I would give the following personal advice: for me, it’s healthier working 60-80% and using out of office time to focus on myself: to be healthy, to have enough time for my friends, to pursue a good lifestyle and to have time to enjoy myself. When balancing your time like this, you have all the energy you need to work concentratedly on your job, but also on the things that matter to you. Use the time off to really think about why you like working for PwC. We quickly forget, losing focus on how much we appreciate our job and tasks when we are here for five days a week. I noticed, that during my full workdays, I stopped thinking about why I was doing all the tasks that were on my lists. But as soon as you start working less, you will find yourself having inspiring conversations with different people and starting to think about life differently. Working 60% means that you are spending more time outside the office – this can give you a huge perspective shift, leading to a new-found appreciation of your job. My second piece of advice would be as follows: if you want to work flexibly, do not wait for people to tell you what to do. Don’t wait for input or clear instructions on how to structure your part time schedule. Instead, focus on your role within the company. Think about why you were hired, what your team and Partner expects from you and how you can contribute to the department’s goals. Make sure you understand what your Partner is trying to achieve and think of how you can help him or her reach this goal – within your limited time frame. This goes both ways: your efforts will be seen and valued, which gives you more freedom to work flexibly and vice versa. Wanting to have more flexibility means that you have to manage yourself.
What is the best thing you have ever done?
Quitting PwC in 2011. Don’t get me wrong – I have come back since then and I enjoy working at PwC. But spending several years of my early adult life with PwC, I started to take a lot of things for granted and life just seemed to “happen”. Instead of seeing the benefits of the firm I was working for, I felt stuck. I then took some time off and went travelling for five months, which really made it possible for me to get a better overview of my life, my choices and the possibilities I had. Doing this, seeing a different part of the world, just showed me how different people’s mindsets are. Bringing back the outsider’s perspective to the firm now makes me balanced and happy, and lets me enjoy and appreciate my job so much. I am thankful for the opportunity I had to learn and grow outside PwC and now I can bring this joy to the team, hopefully motivating people with this mindset. Of course, it’s not as easy to do for everyone, but if you have the chance, I can only recommend that you take a step back and go and see the world. If you feel that you don’t see the value of your daily work anymore, it is neither beneficial to yourself nor the firm. So, take some time off, experience the world and bring your experience back to the firm.
What's your favorite PwC value and why?
"Care". You should really start with caring for yourself. Many full-timers might find themselves working more than full time, leaving less time for their personal well-being outside of work. They might stop caring for themselves, they might stop taking care of their mind, their body, their friends, their families. They will invest much of their time and energy in the company and could find themselves stressed out at some point. Of course, part-timers give their all for PwC as well, but are more flexible in balancing their energy levels in their time off. So, take care of yourself. Think about what is important to you as a person, and to your life, and invest time figuring out how this aligns with what you are supposed to give to your firm. When you have the same interests as the firm, everything will work out much more easily. And, care for the people around you. The more you care for them, the more your understanding of each other will grow and your collaboration will profit.
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