ORIGINAL ARTICLE Psychological distress of women working in banks Yasin Bez 1 MD & Abdurrahim Emhan 2 PhD 1 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey 2 Department of Business, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey Keywords banking sector, burnout, gender difference, psychological distress Correspondence Yasin Bez MD, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir 21280, Turkey. Tel: +90 412 248 8001 (ext: 4817) Mobile: +90 506 474 1838 Fax: +90 412 248 8523 Email: yasinbez@gmail.com Received 22 November 2010 Accepted 6 April 2011 DOI:10.1111/j.1758-5872.2011.00133.x Abstract Introduction: We aim to identify burnout and psychological distress levels in employees of three different types of banks, including conventional banks (government and private) and interest-free banks. Methods: All branches of the three different types of banks were visited in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the southeastern part of Turkey. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Symptom Check List-90 Revised (SCL-90- R), and a demographic form were delivered to 235 bank employees in July 2009. Data from the 163 respondents were analyzed. Results: Employment of women in private banks was higher than in government and interest-free banks. The mean scores of somatization, obsessive-compulsiveness, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, general symptom index in the SCL-90-R and emotional exhaus- tion were higher in women than in men. Younger employees felt less personal accomplishment than their older colleagues. Additionally, less experienced employees were under greater stress from working directly with people. They did not feel successful in their jobs. The three groups were similar in terms of burnout levels, but the SCL-90-R showed signifi- cantly different scores between the groups. Discussion: Women employed in the banking sector were at risk for psychological distress and emotional exhaustion. Younger employees felt a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. Private bank employees experienced a larger level of psychological distress which was not reflected in their burnout levels. Introduction It is well known that excessive stress can be hazardous for human health (McEwen, 2000). It may have a negative impact on both physical and mental health (Eriksen et al., 1999). Job stress is defined as a condi- tion in which some work-related processes, or a com- bination of these factors, interact with the worker to disrupt psychological or physiological homeostasis (Daft, 1991; Storr et al., 1999). Extended periods of high job stress may lead to important consequences, one of which is burnout syn- drome (Daft, 1991). Burnout is a condition of emo- tional, physical and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged exposure to intense stress (Wagner & Hol- lenbeck, 1992). Burnout is a construct often used and embraces three clusters of symptoms: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach & Jackson, 1981; Maslach et al., 2001). The subject becomes rigid, stub- born and inflexible because change demands more adaptational efforts (Iacovides et al., 2003). The influence of burnout has been studied exten- sively over the last two decades. Most studies reported a relationship between burnout and absenteeism, high personnel turnover, difficulties in interpersonal rela- tionships, low performance, low satisfaction, high work-related accidents, and substance abuse (Pikhart et al., 2004; Kouvonen et al., 2005; Surgevil, 2006; Sabuncuoglu & Tuz, 2009). Job stress, burnout and their psychological corre- lates have been reported in previous studies of members of various professions that warrant direct interpersonal interaction, like teachers, nurses and Official journal of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists Asia-Pacific Psychiatry ISSN 1758-5864 Asia-Pacific Psychiatry 3 (2011) 145–150 Copyright © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd 145