A post by a female public-sector bank employee on Reddit has sparked a discussion about leave, workload and work-life balance in PSU banks. The employee questioned whether bank staff are really able to maintain a personal life when even taking a few days of leave can lead to questions from seniors.
According to the employee, she works at a regional office of a public-sector bank and had applied for four days of leave well in advance. She said she had informed her immediate superior, a Chief Manager, about the leave. The Chief Manager reportedly agreed and instructed her to return and join on a particular date.
She said she followed the instructions and returned on time. In fact, her travel ticket was cancelled, forcing her to take a last-minute bus so that she could reach the office and join on the required date.
Reddit Post
“This Was My First Proper Trip of the Year”
The employee said this was her first proper trip of the year. She had not taken leave earlier when many others were travelling because she did not have any plans at that time. However, during a month-end discussion about disbursements, she said an AGM made a remark:
“Tum month-end pe ek-ek hafte ki chhutti le leti ho.”
The employee said the comment was frustrating because she had taken only four days of leave, applied for it in advance and informed the concerned senior. She questioned what she had done wrong after following the required process and returning on the date she had been asked to join.
Taking Leave Can Become Stressful
According to the employee, taking leave in banking can sometimes feel like asking for a personal favour rather than using an entitlement available to employees.
She said bank staff may have to consider several things before planning a vacation, including whether month-end is approaching, whether the leave will be approved and whether they will face questions from seniors after returning.
She also said that even when leave is communicated in advance, it can still become an issue later.
Earlier Incident Involving Leave
The employee also recalled an incident from the previous year. According to her Reddit post, she had informed another manager before taking leave. The manager reportedly refused the request and discussed the matter with the AGM. She eventually went on leave. After returning to work, she said she received a lecture about responsibilities and was told:
“This is not a kirana shop, this is a bank.”
She questioned the situation, saying that asking for leave could result in rejection, while taking leave without asking could lead to criticism. She also said that taking leave around month-end could be viewed as a lack of commitment to work, while avoiding popular vacation periods could mean continuously waiting for a suitable time to travel.
Employee Raises Work-Life Balance Concerns
The employee acknowledged that banking is a profession with responsibilities and that month-end can be a busy period. However, she argued that bank employees also have personal lives, families and commitments outside work.
According to her post, she was not suggesting that staff should take leave without considering the workload. Instead, she questioned why someone who has planned their leave, informed the concerned senior, followed the process and returned on time should still feel guilty about taking a few days off.
She said she had returned from the trip after spending around five days feeling relaxed and happy, but within hours of returning to work, she became anxious following the comment from the senior.
