Story 156
I’ve read most of the stories about Citi and none summarize what a daily grind this place is quite like 144. Every day feels less like work and more like navigating a maze that rearranges itself while you’re inside it. Priorities shift without explanation, decisions are revisited endlessly, and clarity is treated as optional. It’s not that people don’t work hard—it’s that the effort dissolves somewhere between meetings, emails, and quietly changing expectations.
What especially wears me down is how much energy goes into performance rather than progress. Egos dominate rooms in subtle but persistent ways, and simple ideas get overcomplicated so some MD can attach their name to it. Citi Wealth has been in nonstop chaos since 2021, careening from one bad leader to an even worse one, and the instability seeps into everything. Watching problems linger because addressing them might bruise the wrong person’s pride is frustrating in a very specific, very daily way.
By the time the day ends, I’m usually annoyed, though occasionally the whole thing crosses into darkly funny. Most days I leave unsure whether I should laugh at the absurdity of it all or be pissed off that this is what passes for normal. I avoid telling strangers where I work because it’s humiliating to admit I work here.