Morning Coffee: HSBC paying for 6 month nannies as perks make a comeback. The sorry state of consultants

efinancialcareers.com:

To clarify from the start: if you work for HSBC in London or Hong Kong and you want the bank to pay for your nanny, it is not going to happen. Only some HSBC people get the nanny, and they are in India. But as perks make a comeback, it is something to aspire to.

Bloomberg reports that parental perks in India are some of the best in the world. Not only does HSBC pay for six month nannies (after the mandatory 26 weeks maternity leave on full pay), but Morgan Stanley pays for cab rides to the office for its pregnant employees and Citi allows its female employees to work from home for a year after maternity leave.

As banks everywhere try to hire and retain women and to persuade peopleback to the office, the Indian perks are an example of what might be done to convince women with children that banks are good employers with their best interests at heart.

The revelation of banks' generosity on the subcontinent comes as big tech employers are also commanding employees to return and are equally discovering that small things matter: Meta has reportedly begun giving employees branded T-shirts again, as well as offering laundry services, haircuts and free food. There is a cost to getting people back to the office, and it entails gifts biryani at 6pm.

Separately, theFinancial Times surveyed 320 consultants globally and found that their lives are not easy and that there are some parallels to those of investment bankers. 

One 23 year-old associate consultant in New York said she felt «horrible pressure» to perform for fear that she would be laid off. A managing partner said he was working harder to attract customers, «because there is less work out there than before.” A consultant in Paris complained that he was being dragged onto 7pm