'Fear culture' in banks highlighted
Banking staff are forced to hit stressful sales targets while working long hours in a climate of fear, union chiefs claimed today.
Larry Broderick, Irish Bank Officials Association general secretary, said the “fear culture” was partly to blame for scandals which have plagued the industry.
And he said it was vital finance bosses acted to eradicate the unacceptable levels of bullying and harassment from the sector.
“An organisational climate of staff reductions, increased workload and imposition of financial targets frequently results in an environment which creates bullies,” Mr Broderick said.
“This ‘climate’ also creates a culture of fear within organisations whereby staff are afraid to speak their minds or highlight internal problems for fear of being perceived by senior management as disloyal.”
The union boss pointed to the 2001 Prevention of Workplace Bullying task force which showed 10% of the State’s finance employees had experienced bullying at work in the last six months.
And he claimed it backed up an earlier IBOA survey that showed staff felt harassment and bullying occurred frequently, and that it was on the up.
The union launched their Dignity in the Workplace policy to highlight the effects of bullying and to offer advice and support for employees to provide a safe working environment.
“The high level of bullying and harassment in the financial services industry is unacceptable,” Mr Broderick said.
“IBOA’s policy sends out a strong message to employers and employees in the finance sector that dignity in the workplace is not a privilege. It’s a right.”
A second task force on workplace bullying is expected to report to the Government before the end of the year.
