Workload, target issues and promotion doubts: Bank employees on the verge of suicide

KOCHI: The Ernakulam Central Police received a complaint from a public sector bank manager two weeks ago that a female chief manager, who had left for the bank in the morning, had gone missing. When the employees rushed to the flat, they found a suicide note saying, ‘I am leaving due to workload. I want my assets to be divided between my two children.’ During the search, she was found at Goshree Palam, a kilometer away from the High Court. She repeated in her statement to the police that she had gone there due to workload and stress. She was taken to the hospital and released after being given counseling.

This is a signpost to the serious problem of bank employees. The radical change in the public sector banking sector has adversely affected the employees. Workload and target issues have made many sick.

Performance appraisal

Managerial officers have to do even the work of the cash counter. They are lucky if they can go home by 9 pm. Outstation officers cannot go home without station leaving permission. Their promotion will also be in jeopardy if they fail the quarterly performance appraisal.

Resignations increasing

Managers are increasingly resigning because they cannot handle the pressure. Although those who get promoted from the clerical level and become managers and assistant managers are integrating with the system, the pressure and depression are high.

Business Hub

With banks becoming business hubs, managers and assistant managers are scrambling to meet the target. Employees have to handle 50-60 issues. Health, life, general insurances, social security schemes like PMAY, APY, PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Account, MSME loans. There are managements that strictly enforce the requirement of opening five new accounts a day.

'The number of employees should be increased as per the increase in the number of transactions and workload.'

-H Vinod Kumar,

General Secretary,

All India Bank Officers Association.

'Recruitment of officers has decreased post-COVID. Clerical recruitment has come to a standstill. '

Sreenath Induchoodan,

Secretary, AIBOC