I agree with this post 100%. I studied economics and organizational leadership, and I have given this topic also a great deal of thought. I analyzed this post-capitalism stage trickled down to micro symptoms in the labor force - affecting the oldest and youngest of the workforce pyramid.
Look at those recent asset servicing MDs announcements leaving for other financial institutions (non-bank) and others announcing end of year retirements (do a quick search internally for those names). Perform your own analysis answering the question: What did they each really accomplish?
An “eyes wide shut” dynamic is in place here. What did those people really accomplish? New revenue YoY? (Real new $) No. Maintain (albeit disastrously) existing clients? Maybe. Manage the narrative as needed? You are getting warmer. Avoid serious lawsuits for the firm? You are getting closer and closer to the truth.
I was hired in 2023 and let go a year later. Since day 1 I felt a twisted undercurrent between my boss and I. Fortunately, I have been studying organizational psychology formally and informally to understand this is not personal - it’s systemic. I was the youngest in my team to be let go. After a year. With a highly competitive severance. Only woman. A few other men pushed out, fired and/ or laid off. But, guess what? I knew this was coming since day 1. I predicted day 1 I was going to be let go with a serious severance because they were trying to layoff these folks in my group (20+ years at BNY) in order to mask the game. I was being given smoke-and-mirrors tasks / projects that were dead end. I felt people’s anxieties. I saw grown adults have panic of their bosses in the middle of meetings. I would analyze body uneasiness, stuttering by multiple folks, lack of eye contact, and people looked sleep deprived and mentally worsening. No trust amongst anyone. I made notes every day of what I was observing. In an intense exchange between my boss and our admin, she described him as a “tyrant”. And she wasn’t wrong. The authority abuse I witnessed was startling. In any case, a near year later I got my severance package to the full extent of my title plus bonus. To this day, I am convinced my boss thought I was crazier than they are. Probably. I am single. No kids. No debt. FU money available. If things got hostile directly with me, I was ready to defend myself with lawyers, the press and starting real internal, employee chaos. Nothing to lose.
All this to say - as a former employee and given my academic and professional training, my evaluation is that the culture at BNY is dangerous for the collective’s mental health. Take care of yourself - as many have mentioned here - see a therapist, have an emergency fund, and strategically search for your next chapter. And don’t let anyone there get in your head. Do your tasks and disassociate during working hours. DO NOT DRINK THE KOOL AID. (Or only pretend you are by repeating words like client-obsessed and AI, but make sure you sp-t out the medication before heading home.)