Today, Angeline Gambs is hard at work at the Auberge de la Klauss in Montenach, surrounded by jars of foie gras and bottles of wine as she prepares Christmas orders. The hands-on, physical nature of the job has little in common with managing investment funds, yet Gambs, who looks entirely at ease among the boxes filled with festive delicacies, once lived a very different professional life across the border.
Gambs explained that banking had never been a vocation, as she simply drifted into it by chance. Her first role in the Grand Duchy was a temporary position taken just before Christmas. With a French degree in economic and social administration, and known for her curiosity and reliability, she steadily moved up the ranks at an American bank in Senningerberg.
Looking back, she said that in the 1990s, securing a job in Luxembourg felt like reaching the pinnacle: a coveted opportunity, especially given the pay levels compared with France at the time.
But the daily grind of cross-border commuting, combined with mounting pressure at work, ultimately took a toll on her health. She left the bank, and Luxembourg altogether, in 2016 after suffering a second burnout.
Gambs recalled that the first burnout, in 2008, was triggered by work overload. She explained that the second one was more insidious: it came not from too much work but from having too little to do, leaving her increasingly demoralised. What began as a temporary lull turned into a deeper questioning of why she was even coming in each day and what purpose her presence served, Gambs said.
Her new seasonal job began unexpectedly in 2021, during a family meal at the Auberge de la Klauss. The owner mentioned needing help preparing Christmas gift boxes, and Gambs seized the opportunity.
She had long known that if she were to return to work, she wanted it to be far removed from finance, she said. The first year was challenging, especially because of the cold, the physical effort, and the unfamiliar tasks. She remembers how sore her muscles felt.
But her current lifestyle contrasts sharply with her former routine of traffic jams, work meetings, and performance charts. She even briefly considered taking the French Professional Aptitude Diploma (CAP) in patisserie.
With age, she added, one starts reassessing what truly matters. When her daughter once said she hoped to work in a Luxembourg bank too, Gambs urged her to reconsider, stressing that a high salary is meaningless if you have no time to enjoy it, spend it with family, or build anything outside of work.
She now lives at a gentler pace and works on her own terms, even if that choice inevitably affects the household income. But she insists that the sense of calm she has gained is invaluable, and that personal wellbeing has a positive impact on everyone around her.
