Abstract
Financial services, like the banking sector, often become demanding and stress-inducing for employees. Workplaceinduced distress is widespread among banking employees, particularly in this post-pandemic era. This study assessed the psychological distress of banking employees and explained it in relation to personality dimensions and social support. Through purposive sampling, we selected 150 managerial-level banking employees (112 males and 38 females) working in various branches of government banks in the northern districts of Assam. Participants responded to standardized self-report measures, including the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10) for assessing personality dimensions, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results revealed significant gender-based differences in personality traits, perceived social support, and psychological distress. The correlation analyses showed that major personality dimensions like extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness correlated negatively with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Conversely, neuroticism correlated positively with all psychological distress symptoms. Conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism were significant predictors of psychological distress symptoms among bank employees. Moreover, perceived social support correlated negatively with psychological distress, highlighting the protective role of supportive relationships. These results emphasized the critical importance of personality and social support in shaping mental health outcomes in highstress occupations like banking.
Keywords: Bank Employees, Mental Health, Personality, Social Support.