NAB staff claim ?dehumanising? overwork causing physical and mental health problems

NAB staff say they are suffering from depression, self-harm, physical health problems and relationship breakdowns over unpaid, onerous overtime that in some cases can amount to an extra three days a week of work.

A survey of current and former bank staff, prepared by the Finance Sector Union (FSU) in support of federal court action it plans to take against the bank over the issue, found that 93% of mid-tier and above bankers surveyed were working more than the standard 38 hours a week, and paints a grim picture of life at the bank.

"I drove my car off the road deliberately to try and have a serious enough accident to stop the insanity, but not so much to die," one bank worker surveyed by the union said.

"My relationship at that time ended, I think largely because I had lost the essence of me."

Staff reported that if they did not work additional unpaid hours they faced retribution from bank management that included being sacked, bullied and being stripped of bonuses.

In its report, Working for Nothing, the FSU said working excessive unpaid overtime had become normalised within the bank and there was a "culture of fatalism", where employees were resigned to the practice.

"Management turns a blind eye, so they don't have to address workloads," one of the workers surveyed said.