Research finds bank staff stressed with targets

Media release: FIRST Union

Friday November 22, 2013

Research finds bank staff stressed with targets

A survey of women in banks released today finds that many are experiencing high levels of stress as a result of the industry’s aggressive sales targets regime, the bank workers’ union said today.

FIRST Union today presented the paper Women and work in the New Zealand banking industry: Targets and debt following the crisis at a seminar at AUT in Auckland.

“Despite our banks regularly winning gender equity awards from the Human Rights Commission and others, the intensification of pressure and stress on female workers within the industry is at an all-time high,” said Robert Reid, General Secretary, FIRST Union.

“While the boardroom’s gender composition may be altering slightly, the day-to-day reality of most bank staff, predominantly women, is far from empowering.”

“Job security in banks is now primarily premised on the sale of debt. Workers in banks have seen a dramatic intensification of the model of financial retailing, and staff are subjected to unrealistic targets for the sale of financial products.”

“Many of our members, who have worked in the same bank for a period of over ten years, have relayed to us the rapid increase of these targets in the past 5-10 years.”

“The pressure on staff has become highly stress-inducing. Not reaching targets can result in performance management plans, disciplinary hearings, and ultimately dismissal.”

The report found stress was ‘de-motivating’ ‘demoralising’ and affected self-esteem. Some respondents also linked stress to sickness, panic attacks and depression. Many noted how the stress was undermining relationships – between bank staff, with management, and with customers.

Premising ongoing employment security on achieving debt targets for these workers is part of a broader trend of increasing work insecurity. The CTU notes that at least 30% of New Zealand’s workforce (upwards of 635,000 workers) are now affected by insecure work, Robert Reid said.

A copy of the report is available here:

http://firstunion.org.nz/files/Women-and-work-in-NZ-banking-industry.pdf

Ends.

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