Joy means more to me than winning

At first glance, she is lively and full of energy. That’s Jana, who has been with the company for seven years. She came from the pharmaceutical industry and gradually worked her way up to become a manager of part of the ESG team. She currently also finds joy in football, which she started playing thanks to PwC. And she is already beginning to celebrate successes with the team. 

You studied drug analysis at the UCT Prague and worked in the field of pharmacy for a long time. How does someone with such a profile end up at PwC?

Over time, I realised that the laboratory environment did not fulfil me. It was much more fun to work with data, look for stories in it, and collaborate with people across the company. That led me to administrative work related to drug sales, which I enjoyed, but gradually I found myself lacking room for growth. When I came across the Transparency Reporting position at PwC, I was intrigued – the topic was still related to pharmacy, but it offered new opportunities. My uncle used to work here, but since I don’t like favouritism, he didn’t find out about my application until just before the interview.

What brought you to ESG?

After joining, I quickly realised that I liked the atmosphere of the company and the great people around me. The job itself wasn’t as brilliant, though – the project I originally joined was cancelled. Instead, I helped with business development and got involved in projects where it was needed on an ad hoc basis. But I missed having a clear path to further growth.

The turning point came completely by chance during the COVID-19 pandemic. While waiting for our floor to be disinfected, I met Markéta Jechová, then head of a small ESG team, in a meeting room. I started talking to her and then asked her for coaching. Gradually, I became so enthusiastic about their work that I asked if I could help out, and eventually moved to the team permanently. Since then, I have been promoted every year up to the position of manager of the part of the team that deals with carbon footprints and PwC software for measuring them.

What helped you rise so quickly?

I think the biggest factor for me was being proactive – openly saying that I wanted to move up, asking what needed to be done, and being willing to work on myself even outside my comfort zone. It also helped that I always enjoyed my work and the people around me, so despite the occasional ups and downs, my growth curve was upward. I owe my biggest opportunities to show what I’m capable of to my team leader, Ondra Rybka. I’m also relatively good at coping with stress. I have always tried to do a good job, and over time I have learned to ask for help. Whenever there was something I couldn’t handle on my own, I spoke up – and every time someone helped me find a solution or direction. That motivated me to keep going.

What else do you enjoy here?

I enjoy the endless opportunities and meeting inspiring people. A big milestone for me was two and a half years in Junior Leadership, where we implemented creative ideas, from panel discussions with top leadership to small things like origami cards. The talent programme for future leaders also meant a lot to me.

Furthermore, I joined the problem-solving community, where most of my colleagues are from Advisory and, since I’m from Assurance, I’ve been rebelling a bit there for the second year now. Together, we discuss, for instance, the book Thinking, Fast and Slow and topics such as why our brain automatically jumps to conclusions in a split second or how this relates to the Japanese philosophy of ichigo ichie. These activities give me energy beyond work, as does my team, where strong friendships and unity have been formed, which I particularly appreciate at a time when the entire ESG team is going through a difficult period of transformation.

You have also been in charge of the PwC women’s football team for two years. How did that come about?

I was introduced to football in 2023 by a colleague who was looking for players for PwC’s international five-a-side football tournament. It must be said that none of us played football at the time, but we thought it was a great idea. I took charge of organising the training sessions. I still remember our first “kickabout” after work in Pankrác Park – in running shoes, full of enthusiasm and with zero technique (laughs).

We finished second to last in the tournament, but we enjoyed it immensely and wanted to continue. A colleague then had the idea of signing us up for the second women’s futsal league in Strahov, and, um, we lost our first match 0:15. However, PwC helped us rent a hall, and thanks to regular training and the addition of two experienced players to the team, we improved within two years – this year we finished fourth at the PwC tournament in Portugal, with a medal within reach – that is an incredible achievement.

How does the team work?

Until this spring, I was the coach – and I’m one of those who didn’t know how to play football myself. I learned mainly from YouTube, from friends, or with my family on the field in front of our house. I then passed on everything I learned to the others. Last autumn, the girls elected me captain, which is a great honour and responsibility for me. And because we are united by fun and enthusiasm, we named our team “FUNatics”.

Since spring, we’ve had a coach – a friend who isn’t a professional coach, but he plays football and fits in perfectly with the group. Now it’s a dream come true: we have training twice a week, one in the hall thanks to PwC and the other in the gym, which our coach added. That sounds pretty professional, doesn’t it?

Are you winning a medal this year?

We’re in the semifinals (top 4) of the Strahov league this autumn, so we’ll see what medal we’ll be fighting for in December. This season, we’re breaking our own records – we've scored the most goals and conceded the fewest. The paradox is that if we are too good, we could advance to the first league. And we have great respect for that, because the difference in the level of the teams is huge. Except for two players, none of us had played football before working at PwC, so what we have achieved is, in my opinion, a huge success that came from something small. PwC also played a big role in this, supporting us from the beginning and continuing to support us today.

It seems that football is very important to you now...

That’s right, I consider football to be one of the biggest milestones at PwC – it’s another reason why I plan to stay here. Playing gives me a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm, which is reflected in everything I do. Over the past two years, I’ve become aware of how important it is to balance the energy I love to devote to my family and the people around me with giving myself space.

Connecting people is what I find very rewarding, and I do it mainly for the joy it brings me. For me, that’s more important than any result or victory.