The average workweek for nonsupervisory workers in banking was 35.9 hours in 2002. Supervisory and managerial employees, however, usually work substantially longer hours. Twelve percent of employees in 2002, mostly tellers, worked part-time.
Working conditions also vary according to where the employee works. Employees in a typical branch work weekdays, some evenings if the bank is open late, and Saturday mornings. Hours may be longer for workers in bank branches located in grocery stores and shopping malls, which are open most evenings and weekends. Branch office jobs, particularly teller positions, require continual communication with customers, repetitive tasks, and a high level of attention to security. Tellers also must stand for long periods in a confined space.
To improve customer service and provide greater access to bank personnel, banks are establishing centralized phone centers, staffed mainly by customer service representatives. Employees of phone centers spend most of their time answering phone calls from customers and must be available to work evening and weekend shifts.
Administrative support employees may work in large processing facilities, in the banks’ headquarters, or in other administrative offices. Most support staff work a standard 40-hour week; some may work overtime. Those support staff located in the processing facilities may work evening shifts.
Commercial and mortgage loan officers often work out of the office, visiting clients, checking out loan applications, and soliciting new business. Loan officers may be required to travel if a client is out of town, or to work evenings if that is the only time at which a client can meet. Financial service sales representatives also may visit clients in the evenings and on weekends to go over the client’s financial needs.
The remaining employees located primarily at the headquarters or other administrative offices usually work in comfortable surroundings and put in a standard workweek. In general, banks are relatively safe places to work. In 2002, cases of work-related injury and illness averaged 1.5 per 100 full-time workers, among the lowest in the private sector, where the rate was 5.3.
