Evaluation of mental health problems and psychological burnout among the bankers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background

Individuals working in the banking sector may face several mental health-related issues. Job-related stress may act as a causative factor for the deterioration of the mental health of bank employees. This stress leads to other mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, and burnout.

Objective

Here, we aimed to investigate the symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout among bank employees.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study among 397 bank employees. The characteristics of study participants and job-related variables were collected using a structured questionnaire. We applied the DASS-21 scale to assess depression, anxiety, and stress and the 15-item Bergen Burnout Inventory to assess burnout among participants.

Results

The prevalence of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms were 67.5%, 74.56%, and 59.56%, respectively, among the respondents. In comparison, about 93.45% of respondents were dealing with burnout symptoms. The majority of bank employees with mental health issues had mild depression (33%), extremely severe anxiety (37%), mild stress (40%), and severe burnout (46%). According to our findings, sex, area of residence, financial status, daily working hours, task variations, overstay at the office, salary satisfaction, work-life balance, and growth opportunity worked as contributing factors for poor mental health. Cronbach's alpha for the DASS-21 and 15-item Bergen Burnout Inventory scales were 0.939 and 0.924, respectively, which shows high internal consistency among the survey questions.

Conclusions

To promote the mental well-being of bank employees, policymakers and respective experts in the banking sector must emphasize regulations and carry out awareness-raising efforts to enhance the efficiency of bank employees.