Contingencies of working in a bank: a study on the mechanisms of mediation and defense against suffering

Abstract

The banking sector has undergone remarkable changes since the production restructuring in the 1990s, which caused a significant decrease in the number of workers and changes in the work organization. Such contingencies have caused an impact on the mental health of bank workers, and it is important to investigate the mechanisms of mediation and defense against suffering used by workers in this context. In this descriptive, qualitative research, bank workers of a national private institution were interviewed. The interviews were subjected to content analysis. The research identified the effects of work organization, where the management assumption generates an important individualization of the work, since the banking workers are stressed by the pressure of the goal and the need for recognition. There is a subjective mobilization trying to mediate the suffering resulting from the work dynamics, as evidenced by an affective superficiality and the isolation that seeks to account for the demand for attributions imposed, which is reflected in the condition of customer service. The mediation strategies in the participants’ experiences are cooperation, practical intelligence and transgression. Virile cynicism, affective insensitivity, isolation, and psychical illness were identified as defense mechanisms.