Job-Related Stress in Financial Services Industry

Job-Related Stress in the Financial Services Industry

In a May 2003 study, 111 recent Purdue University graduates who identified themselves as working in the financial services industry rated their average job stress level to be 5.19 out of a possible 7. The median was 5.5 (DeVaney and Chen). However, despite this relatively high level of job-related stress, the graduates indicated an even higher average job satisfaction level of 5.71 out of 7 (DeVaney and Chen). Thus, the study suggests that although financial service professionals experience a relatively high level of job-related stress, they also find their jobs satisfying. This paper examines the unique stresses experienced by those who work in the financial services industry.

A 1988 study found professions involved in the financial services industry to be among the ten most stressful occupations in the United States (Montgomery, Blodgett & Barnes 21-38). The study concluded that the high levels of stress experienced by financial service professionals related to conflicting role demands (Montgomery, Blodgett & Barnes 21-38). For example, financial services salespeople often feel short-term pressure from management to meet sales quotas of the company's products. To meet such pressure, salespeople may find themselves tempted to ignore or down-value their customers' best interests in favor of meeting their own sales goals.

But the pressure to meet these short-term goals contributes to a common experience among fina

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& Barnes 21-38). Terry Beerh, a professor of psychology at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan also maintains that financial planners are more likely than others to experience high levels of stress (Gentile 114-119). In his research, Beerh found that having responsibility for others, whether they be clients or employees, was one of the key factors contributing to job-related stress (Gentile 114-119). The competing responsibilities noted above means that financial professionals are responsible both for their company's success as well as their customers' financial health, a factor that undoubtedly increases their likelihood of experiencing job-related stress. But financial professionals also have the unique stress of being responsible for guiding their customers' financial fates. Such responsibilities can include delivering bad news about a customer's retirement goals or easing another customer's fears during a market downturn (Gentile 114-119). Experts in the field note that while financial advisers are educated and trained to perform activities such as asset allocation and estate planning, they are not usually trained to handle the strains, worries and self-doubt that come with the "awesome responsibilit

Category: Business - J