How I Rob Banks

Chapter 44Trading Places

In society there are certain rules and ways of working that are not familiar to many of us. Most people start a new job and find it takes a while to settle in—the cliques from school, college, or even university are still a thing when you get into a workplace. You have in crowds, you have loners, you have the nerds, the sports buffs, the managers, the suck-ups, and the weirdos. Add office politics to that, and you might as well be back in high school!

The first few months in a workplace can seem strange as you're trying to navigate the unwritten rules of how to do your job. On top of that, there are the actual rules. Sometimes they can be weirder than the unwritten rules.

It's hard for many people to imagine how old some banks are in England. Some were established in the 1700s, and a few even earlier than that! Over 300 years of traditions are set in the normal rules of working as well as longstanding odd things: for example, I know of one bank with a rule that women must be shown through a door first and must even ride the elevator by themselves, lest they be left alone with a man. That bank also prohibits women on certain floors; men must come down to their floor (and it's always down!).

At another bank, ever since the popularity of bowler hats, their bankers have had to wear them in the office for specific events such as the opening and closing of the markets.

How people dress is a huge concern to me in my job. Unlike most people who perform social ...