No, No job is horrible, it is our intent that makes it a horrible affair.

I have
served in a public sector bank as Asst Manager for 3.5 years, so I find myself
qualified enough to answer this question.

It all starts when you come across a friend who is preparing for Bank Exams. Seeing
the calender you see that IBPS conducts exam really fast and without corruption.
You see that rosy picture and get carried away by the TAG of an officer. WOW…it
feels. You will get to become an officer at a young age without going through all
that unpredictability and uncertainty in other exams. Just one exam with a defined
syllabus and you can have a settled life. You prepare your heart out for the exam
and eventually manage to clear the exam. Your name appears on the Final merit list
and you are on cloud nine.

Now, you join the bank and have all those noble thoughts that you will work nicely,
have a healthy life and peace and happiness and what not. Since I was recruited for
agriculture, I had dreams of putting my knowledge to revive the low productivity
levels of agriculture sectors and to impart Transfer of Knowledge and technology.
One fine day you get the date you have to report and you get your new clothes and
somewhere in your mind you are excited about the new job.

But then, the DAY comes.

The rosy picture you painted in your mind goes for a toss when you see the Branch.
You think you are an officer and the clerks would pay regards to you, but WTF, they
are treating you like you are their child, sometimes calling you “beta”. Talking
non sense talks like you do in a personal relationship quite contrary to the style
of professionalism you have been acclimatized to during your study in the reputed
universities of India. Now you question the level of professionalism of the
organisation. Somethings you feel should not be there which are unethical like
customers being ill treated by staff, clerks not listening, clerks denying to do
the work assigned directly on face. It brings utter humiliation and embarrassment
to you.

Remember you have not been trained or even received any basic orientation about the
Bank by now. They will give you targets since Day 1.

5 loans a day.

5 OTS per day.(Recovery)

5 APY a day

Other things I am not saying, some other answers cover it well.

You fail to achieve and see the way in which you are talked with. They can abuse
your mother your sister and what not, they make you feel unworthy, use less and
ultimately helpless. Sooner or later you loose your spark and end up being tparty
to the same lot whom you regarded as indisciplined and unprofessional. You cannot
leave the bank because they will demand you to give back the BOND money along with
3 months of GROSS SALARY, along with TRAINING costs,(which was useless), which
cumulatively amounted to Rs. 535000/- in my case. Now you are trapped and you feel
claustrophobic. you can’t go anywhere and donot have resources enough to pay for
it. Now you choose, whether to continue or to move on by paying the money, but then
you make a choice to stay. You make a plan to complete your Bond period and then
resign. You choose to prepare for UPSC or any other exam, but since the bank
expects you to stay Late ,sometime till 9 pm-10 pm under the pretext that you are
single and hence expendable. You cannot do anything nicely. The Manager abuses you
at will very badly, infront of subordinates and customers, as a result you loose
your sense of respect among the subordinates, who now even dont mind in not wishing
you and feel pride in negating your authority. You feel helpless and make a choice
to approach the Regional Office to explain the situation. But they are insensitive
and say, that you are not special, and they have also gone through it. In turn they
burden you with heavier targets, and hurl abuses. Another thing they do is to
attach branches. In my case, I was given responsibility of 8 branches, the entire
day you have a Field officer bike and you keep riding around the entire day from
one branch to another, till late night.

Ultimately you cannot take any more and become a REBEL. But somewhere you were a
dedicated and Nice Guy. And you still feel bad when you are abused. But you can’t
retaliate. You are bound by the laws governing our country.( and the bank off
course).

You start avoiding work and allow being yelled at, abused at, pointed fingers at
and what not. You are in an emotional mess. Those late night phone calls, from
customers and bank management asking for the progress, that nosy sycophant boss
calling you names and pressure of overambitious targets, takes a toll on your
health as well. You end up being a very unstable, un charactered and indecent
person. YOU ARE MESSED UP. Now you have completed two years at the bank, and you
resign. But alas, your resignation is not accepted in the first go. You are
tormented and asked all sorts of non sense stuff just for humiliation sake. Those
last three months of notice period are hell. They make it a point that you take
back your resignation and dont quit.

Because it has taken a hell lot of effort and dedication by the douchebag team of
“professionals”, to mess you up. And they wouldnt get a slave for this cheap
easily. They term it as investment. Finally the date gets set for you to be free.
And you literally beg them to let you go. After providing them so many unethical
favours and ego massaging at every step of wanting to resign. They finally let you
go, WISHING YOU BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

BUT UNDER A HEADER THAT YOU MAY BE CALLED U ANYTIME IN FUTURE FOR ANY PENDING
ENQUIRY OR ANY BULLSHIT. You feel bitter, by now. You have lost your esteem and
respect. You move in society with your head low. As if you have been fired. You are
angry at them, but what is the point. You are emotionally damaged by now, you feel
depression and think of commiting suicide. You have lost your spark by now, with a
point of no return. You have lost your ability to focus at ease and do things
perfectly and you are not going anywhere.

Why did this situation come??

Due to lack of awareness.

Bank is a Government Job.- No, Bank is very much like a private job, with the
exception of Government of having 51% shares, thats it.
Bank Officer- No brother, you are not an officer, its similar like being a customer
care executive in BPO, you are that sort of officer.
You are there to manage- Yes, but all you can manage is how you will do the manual
work. The classical definition of management is missing from here, and you donot
get the work done, but you do the work yourself.
You have powers at least in the Bank- No, only responsibilities, No power. If a
clerk or sub staff talks rashly to you, all you can do is to “ Request” him to not
talk to you like that. Thats it. You can not issue a charge sheet or
suspension.Even if he is wrong. Their Union is strong and will stand against you to
thrash you, management will also not support you
All you do in the bank is just sit and attend customers- No, No, No…..The bank is
run on profits, and not social service. They may give you a target of getting ten
loans today, get it from anywhere they donot care. Just get it.If not be prepared
to bear the brunt.Now the thing with loans is A. Its not aloo gibhi that you give
to any one….B. You cannot “make some one” take a loan, you can improve your
services to attract people, you can market your product, but you cannot force
someone to take loan. C.Recoveries- You have to beg with your hands folded, people
not giving money, rising NPA, but you cannot fight them or they will file FIR in
individual capacity, all you can do is file for a suit or RC, which goes into
Tehsil jurisdiction and we all know how they work. The management forces you to
recover money just somehow, or again Abuses and humiliation. So, you have to make
people do things, which is again pronblematic beacuse your performance depends on
any tom dick and harrys performance.
It is a respectable job- Fuck respect, it will even take away your own self
respect. You are just a punching bag for Management and dustbin, and for clerks it
is a matter of pride to take on some one senior technically.
It is 10–5 job- No, 10–10
So, according to me it is a cognitive suicide, emotional suicide, and most
importantly a spiritual suicide.

The problem is that those who have never been to the bank start commenting about
bank, and misguide the people about the situation. And also those people who have
quora credentials as Retd. Banker. Banking in their time was a different ball game
altogether. At that time branches used to have a staff of 100 people in a branch.
now the same branch has 5 people.

So, the end of the story,

Banking like any other job is a job. which is a bit tough but not undoable. The
mistakes that we make while selecting bank as a career is in haste, desperation or
lack of knowledge/awareness. and when those aspirations are not met with, e feel
really bad, and it is a disastrous position to be in. The mere fact that people
qualified an exam is in itself a proof that you are intelligent. Still why are
there so many people criticising a bank job. There may be some reasons.

Bank’s policies suck.

It is a slave owner relationship.
It does not utilize your intellectual skills. So good Thinkers just stay away.
It is a market type job, so it is for people who can talk like baniya and
shopkeepers. Mindlessly and for hours and hours with profit in mind.
Banks are mismanaged by these desi management practices. and by ass holes. who were
themselves fucked by their bosses.
It is not a government job.
Pay is very low to maintain safe standards of living.
Cultural differences when you are posted to another city or culture. Problem is not
in serving else where but in being dependent on them, since you are not provided
quarters, and you have to rent a place, which gets you vulnerable.
Its very much like Private culture, only worse.
Its not an English speaking society, they yell maa ki bahan ki, at full scale in
branch while taling to each other.
You cannot make a positive contribution. I once brutally shoooed away a dalal in my
branch and put an end to dalali culture. customers were happy while the Senior
bankers were unhappy, and troubled me unnecessarily. Guess you understand the
links.
I never had a fight or standoff with customers till date. I respect them because
its for and because of them bankers are there. What I hate is the sick ideology of
there bank wallahs who donot accord necessary powers to the young lot of the bank,
and in turn want them to be like them. To hear all that non sense and sharma varma
talks, leisures and discussion of politics during bank hours.
These bank wallahs are napunsak, why, because they donot have the guts to stand for
truth, and admit that there practices are bad. They just dont want to improve. and
they never will. They only understand the language of RBI and FinMin. When they
take the class of the Gm and DGm, they literally pee in their pants.
So, my friend, if you are under two conditions,

You desperarely need a job since you have no one to support your family, take it,
atleast you will be doing service to your family.
You are utterly passionate for banking as a subject and you respect this discipline
next to god.
You are exceptionally good at manipulating people an can talk sweetly on face ie.
double standard talker. Go for it.
You are an expendable, parents want to get rid of you, go for it.
You have no sense of prestige, esteem, respect, heirarchy, discipline, and love non
sense, go foor it.
You are chronically messed up and there is no further scope of screwing up your
life, try banking for sure. PSB are masters of screwing.
You dont have problems with people abusing you badly for no issue, and even you
have a problem studying or doing some thing that requires your intellectual side.
Choice is yours, I’m telling you all this, to let you know that how much I love
you, and dont want you to spoil your life. Choose wisely.

Capitalism is a good slave but a bad master. Value your health first, family
second, and after that everything else.

Sorry for the answer written so fast that i may have made gramattical mistakes, I
am on my way for my appointment with psychiatrist, one of by products of working in
a bank, I am 28 and on verge of chronic organ system failure, i’m obesed, and
extremely weak.

All for the sake of bank, because at that time, my health and self respect were
lower than bank’s profits.

Again choose wisely.