'Obscene' targets stress bank staff

The Finance Sector Union provided an antidote to the common bank management meme of improving staff engagement with a caustic overview of prominent workplace issues detailed in its annual report.

Fiona Jordan, national president of the union (and a Westpac employee), wrote that "finance sector members are suffering the constant pressure of:

• Obscene increases to targets;

• Constant lack of staffing;

• Micro management to the extreme that is clearly an occupational health and safety issue;

• Threats of jobs going off shore;

• A culture of meeting 100 per cent of target is no longer acceptable - 130 per cent is the new benchmark;

• And increases to targets up to 40 per cent with no justification."

 "Never before have I seen so many members under [such] constant pressure and stress." Jordan wrote.