Quality of Worklife among Employees in Banking Sector: A Study Undertaken at Nationalized Banks, Hyderabad Karnataka Region

 

Shobha B. Hangarki

 

ABSTRACT:

Economic growth and development of the country depends on the banking system. Banking industry has attained the highest position in the world.  The quality of work life of its employees plays a important role as the success of the banking industry is highly dependent on its committed employees. The employees in the banking sector are experiencing heavy workload beyond ones capacity, ambiguity to control resources, lack of authority to control resources, absence of autonomy in decision making, etc., leading to worklife imbalances causing stress effecting the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. The aim of this study was to identify the quality of  work life of the bank employees, due to high level of work pressure, working with different culturally diversified colleagues, bridging generation gap, women employees issues, professional career development, health issues and performance pressure causing stress.  For conducting this research 500 bank employees were selected from nationalized banks of HKR and questionnaires were used to collect primary data from employees of different age group and it was found that employees experienced performance pressure causing heavy stress.

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Economic growth and development of the country completely depends on the banking system. Bank is an institution with versatile activities associated with corporate sectors, socio-economic development and overall development of the country. Till recently, banks were the most evergreen industry for the job seekers, due to pay and employee benefits provided by the banking industry. But, today the age old evergreen banking industry is getting faded from the market as its salary and benefits are not coping up with the commitment given by the employees towards their banks through long working hours, handling work pressure and ultimately reaching the expected goals.

 

Today, there has been a great concern about decent wages, convenient working hours, conducive working conditions etc., resulting into a quality of work life (QWL). Quality of work life leads to human dignity and growth in career with improvements in improved quality of life at work for all members of the organization and greater effectiveness for both the banks and the employees.

 

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Ghosh (1993) conducted a study to find out the factors that will help to improve the Quality of Work Life at micro level with the objectives of developing tools for evaluation of Quality of Work Life. The finding is that the core determinant of Quality of Work Life in an organization is the management perception of Quality of Work Life in affecting the organizations effectiveness. Akinnusi (1995) in his study of stress among a sample of bank executives in Nigeria found that the respondents experienced a good amount of job stress especially time pressure. They stated that working in banks makes it hard to spend enough time with their families. They also felt that they are married to their jobs. This is expected as bankers are often known to complain about working till late hours and also coming to work on weekends. Karrir and Khurana (1996) in their study found a significant correlations of Quality of Work Life of managers from three sectors of industry viz., Public, Private and Cooperative, with some of the background variables (education qualification, native/migrant status, income level) and with all of the motivational variables like job satisfaction and job involvement. Gilgeous (1998) studied Quality of Work Life of manufacturing managers. Their views were found as contrasted with those expressed in the current literatures and it was therefore concluded that the manufacturing managers believe themselves to be adequately valued, remunerated and motivated by their organizations. However, it was also found that the levels of esteem and job satisfaction, although satisfactory, could be improved through greater empowerment. Wyatt Thomas and Chat Yue Wah (2001) examined the perception of Quality of Work Life with a sample size of 332 managerial executives. Results from factor analysis suggest four dimensions, which are named favorable work environment, personal growth and autonomy, nature of job and stimulating opportunities and co-workers. The overall findings support the conceptualizations of factors involved in perception of Quality of Work Life. Shahid N (2011) in his study on branch level managers, operational managers, supervisors and officers (credit officers, remittance officers, customer services officers and relationship officers) of a bank stated that bankers are under a great deal of stress due to many antecedents of stress such as, lack of administrative support, excessive work demand, problematic customer relations, coworker’s relationship, family & work life balance and risk involved in job. These stressors contribute to decreased organizational performance, decreased employee overall performance, decreased quality of work, high staff turnover, and absenteeism due to health problems such as anxiety, depression, headache and backache. Ullah A M and Naeem H (2012) took a sample of three hundred employees from the banks of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. From the findings it is clear that interpersonal conflict and job stress are strongly dependent on each other, interpersonal conflict between employees and supervisors lead to job stress. This conclusion explains that there is a positive relationship between interpersonal conflict and job stress in the banking sector of Pakistan. Esra Zeynel (2012) in his study “The effects of work motivation in Quality of Work Life: A study on banking sector”, revealed that there is a significant relationship between motivational tools and Quality of Work Life.

 

JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY:

From extensive review of the literature it was found that research on quality of worklife was done among employees of various organisations but not in nationalized banks of Hyderabad Karnataka Region. Hence the need was felt for undertaking this study.

 

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

1.      To provide an overview and analysis of quality of work life climate in select nationalized banks of HKR.

2.      To find out whether the employees are satisfied with the quality of work life provided to them.

3.      To provide some suggestions for improving the quality of work life of the employees.

 

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY:

This paper is based on primary data and secondary data. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire which was administered personally to the bank employees. Secondary data were collected from the internet, books, journals, and articles. The target population of this study was 500 employees of select nationalized banks i-e., state bank of India, State bank of Hyderabad, State bank of Mysore, Canara bank, Syndicate bank, Union bank of India, Indian bank, Vijaya bank, IDBI and Corporation bank of Hyderabad Karnataka Region.

 

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION:

Table.1   Frequency distribution of Gender of Respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage	Frequency	Percentage
Male	321	64.2
Female	179	35.8
Total	500	100.0

 

It is found that 64.2 percent of the respondents are male and 35.8 percent are female respondents.

 

Table.2  Age of the Respondents

Age Group	Frequency	Percentage
25-35	72	14.4
36-45	194	38.8
46- above	234	46.8
Total	500	100.0

 

Its found that 14.4 % are between the age group of 25-35 years, 38.8% are between 36-45 years, 46.8% are 46 – above years.

Table. 3 Experience of the Respondents

Experience (In Years)	Frequency	Percentage
Below 10	92	18.4
10-20	170	34
Above 20	238	47.6
Total	500	100

It is found that 18.4% of the respondents have below 10 years of experience, 34% of the respondents have 10-20 years of experience, and 47.2% of the respondents have above 20 years of experience.

 

 

 

Table.4    Satisfaction from Work Schedules

Work Schedule	Highly Satisfied	Satisfied	No comment	Dissatisfied	Highly Dissatisfied
Total Working hours	---	102(21%)	---	371 (74.2%)	27 ( 5.4%)
Daily Starting time	---	489(97.8%)	---	12  (2.4%)	---
Closing time	---	---	---	419 (83.8%)	81  (16.2%)
Lunch break	---	476(95.2%)	---	23 (4.6%)	---
Casual Leave days	---	451(90.2%)	---	49 (9.8%)	---

 

 

From the above table it is clear that, 74.2% of the respondents are dissatisfied with the total working hours, 97.8% are satisfied with the daily starting time of the bank, 83.8% are dissatisfied with the closing time, 95.2% are satisfied with the lunch breaks and 90.2% are satisfied with the casual leave days.

 

Table .5   Satisfaction from Participation in Management

Participation In Management	Yes	No
Are you motivated to generate new ideas	114 (22.8%)	386 (77.2%)
Are Policies implemented communicated	471 (94.2%)	29 (5.8%)
Do you have open door policy	483 (96.6%)	17 (3.4%)
Is knowledge sharing sessions conducted	129 ( 25.8%)	371 (72.4%)
Are awards & recognition satisfactory	349 (69.8%)	151 (30.2%)

 

The above table indicates that, 77.2% of the respondents are of the opinion that they are not motivated to generate new ideas, 94.2%  said all the policies implemented are communicated to them, 96.6% said they have open door policy, 72.4% expressed that knowledge sharing sessions are not conducted and 69.8% respondents said they are satisfied with the awards and recognitions provided.

 

 

Table.6    Opinion about Occupational Stress

Occupational Stress	Yes	No
Do you have over load of work	500(100%)	--
Are you demanded to work more than your ability	421(84.2%)	79 (15.8%)
Are you happy with your superiors attitude	438(87.6%)	62 (12.4%)
Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined	73 (14.6%)	427(85.4%))
Do you have opportunity for career growth	367 (73.4%)	133(26.6%)
Do you get overtime allowances	--	500(100%)
Do you have recreational facilities	--	500(100%)
Do you have  friendly atmosphere	394 (78.8%)	106 (21.2%

From the above table it is inferred that, 100% of the respondents said they are over loaded with work, 84.2% said they are demanded to work more than their ability, 87.6% are happy with their superiors attitudes, 85.4% said they do not have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, 73.4% said they find opportunity for career growth in their jobs, 100% said they do not get any overtime allowances nor have any recreational facilities, 78.8% said they have friendly atmosphere.

 

Table.7 Satisfaction of Women Employees towards their Worklife

Satisfaction of Women Employees Towards their Worklife	Yes	No
Do you feel secured working in banks	174(97.2%)	05 (2.8%)
Have you come across sexual harassment	19 (10.6%)	160(89.3%)
Do you have separate ladies room	----	179 (100%)
Are you satisfied with the maternity leaves granted	48 (26.8%)	131(73.1%)
As a new mother do you get flexible working hours	----	179 (100%)
As a new mother do you get breaks in between apart from lunch hours	----	179(100%)
As a new mother do you get reduced working hours	----	179 (100%)

 

From the above table it is inferred that, out of total 179 women respondents, 97.2% of the respondents feel secured working in banks, 10.6% respondents have come across sexual harassment, 100% said they don’t have separate ladies room, 73.1% of the respondents are dissatisfied with the maternity leave granted, 100% of the respondents said as a new mother they don’t get any flexible working hours, nor any breaks in between apart from lunch hours, and no reduced working hours.

 

Table.8   Satisfaction of Physically Disabled Employees From workplace

Satisfaction of Physically Disabled Employees from workplace	Yes	No
Are you treated equally as other employees	38(80.8%)	09 (19.1%)
Do you have sloppy ways instead of steps to come/move inside & outside the banks	41 (87.2%)	06 (12.7%)
Do you get any special privileges	47 (100%)	---

 

From the above table it is inferred that, out of total 47 physically disabled respondents, 80.8% of the respondents said they are equally treated as other employees, 87.2% said they have sloppy ways instead of steps to come/ move inside and outside the banks, 100% said they get special privileges.

 

Table.9  Satisfaction from Health Issues

Health Issues	Yes	No
Do you have health Café	---	500 (100%)
Do you have Yoga Classes	---	500 (100%)
Do you have Stress management sessions	---	500 (100%)
Do you need these café/ classes/ sessions	500 (100%)	---

 

 

From the above table it is inferred that, 100% of the respondents said there are no health café, yoga classes and stress management sessions, 100% of the respondents needed these café/classes/sessions to be organised regularly.

 

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

The study disclosed the relationship between the employee’s satisfaction and various dimensions of quality of work life. The study revealed that the quality of worklife in select nationalized banks did not satisfy to all employees equally. Most of the employees are dissatisfied with long working hours, heavy workload more than their capacity, new mothers not getting any relief, less motivation for generating new ideas, and no recreational facilities. There is a serious need to improve the quality of work life of its employees as they are the assets of the banks. The following are the recommendations for improving the quality of worklife of the employees,

Ø  The workload should be seriously worked out and more staff should be recruited so that the employees can give at their best as per their abilities.

Ø  Sessions should be organised for motivating the employees to develop new ideas and knowledge sharing.

Ø   Women employees issues should be seriously handled by appointing a expert committee to help in shaping and developing a good quality of worklife for women, and new mothers.

Ø  To handle health issues yoga classes, health café and stress management sessions should be regularly organised.

Ø  Social get together should be organised to improve inter personal relationship.

 

Finally, this paper suggests that banks should review the present quality of work life and offer a better work environment that fosters positive commitments from their employees towards their work as they are the assets for taking the banking industry towards the highest position.

 

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