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campus of FIS have 758 combined years of on-the-job
experience: 15 have been with the company for 10 or
more years, 17 for 25 or more years, nine for 30 or more
years, and two for 40 years, she said.

Among their common interests, NYCE staff members
are diehard sports enthusiasts, supporting their teams
to the bitter end, Lawson said, adding, "Many of us
celebrated the glory days together when the Bills went
to the Super Bowl for four years in a row." Additional
extracurricular activities include an annual food
pantry drive, Toys-for-Tots, Habitat for Humanity, Ride
for Roswell and hospice services. NYCE employees
also collaborate on office recipe books, chocolate chip
cookie bake-offs, Office Olympics and tailgate parties.

"Many of us have been here since our early single days,
when we would go to happy hour together," Lawson
said. True friendships developed, and several of those
friendships turned to marriage. As babies arrived,
picnics and holiday parties brought families together,
and today, Bring Your Kids to Work Day remains a
popular rite of passage. "As time went on, the children
we brought to work are graduating college and getting
married, and one of those children we watched grow
up is now a coworker," she said.

In good times and bad
NYCE employees routinely gather in the conference
room to celebrate birthdays, milestone anniversaries
and other life events. They support each other as
their parents age, grandchildren are born and lifelong
friends plan for retirement. "We share stories about
conferences we used to attend," Lawson said. "Like the
time we were stuck on an airport runway for hours and
gave our leftover giveaways to stranded passengers on
the plane. And the time we flew to New York City to
celebrate yet another merger."

Lawson said NYCE employees are there for each other
in good times and bad. A coworker recently commented
on all the ways in which the team supports members
during times of grief, such as organizing collections
and taking food to coworkers and their families.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates average
citizens spend 22 percent of their lives on the job, with
one-third of employed people spending some time
working on weekends. "Why not make that 22 percent
mean more than just a paycheck?" Lawson said. "And
why not make a career in payments mean more than
just transactions?"

Dale S. Laszig, Staff Writer at The Green Sheet and Managing
Director at DSL Direct LLC, is a payments industry journalist and
content provider. She can be reached at dale@dsldirectllc.com and
on Twitter at @DSLdirect.

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