I joined a PSB as a PO in 2015.

My first posting was in a rural branch with only 3 staff.

The BM handled credit.
The clerk handled cash.
And I was the only officer left.

So basically, everything else came to me.

Passbook printing, voucher punching, passing transactions, account opening, customer service, clearing-related work, etc.

The branch could practically close by 5 PM because the BM and cashier would leave before 6. But I would sit there till 8:30 PM.

I was new and scared of pending work. I had this mindset that if something was pending in the branch, I HAD to finish it, even if it wasn't actually my responsibility.

That was probably my first mistake.

Eventually, the RO came to know what was happening and transferred me to a large branch.

I thought things would get better.

They didn't.

There were clerks who had been working in the same branch for 10+ years. They obviously knew the system better than I did, and many had settled into their own ways of working. Again, I ended up taking responsibility for a lot of work.

10 AM to 9:30 PM became normal.

And slowly, it started affecting me badly.

Frustration. Anxiety. Constant stress. Negative thoughts.

Eventually, I had to take 30 days of medical leave.

Even during my leave, I was getting messages from my BM asking me to join, with the kind of pressure that made me think the bank would take disciplinary action against me.

I cried.

I seriously thought about resigning.

Then, fortunately, I got transferred to a Central Office because of my qualifications and some recommendations from seniors in the RO.

I thought:

"Finally. Now things will be better."

They were different, but not necessarily better.

Here I saw another side of the banking system.

Egoistic senior authorities.

Decisions that didn't always make sense to people working on the ground.

Lack of coordination between departments.

Multiple departments giving different targets to branches, sometimes with the same deadline.

And eventually, the pressure of all of this would come down on field staff.

One thing I realised after spending years in both field and administrative setups is that the grass isn't necessarily greener on either side.

Field staff sometimes think that people sitting in administrative offices are highly efficient and intelligent.

And administrative staff sometimes think that field staff are simply not working hard enough.

Reality is much more complicated.

There are extremely capable and hardworking people everywhere.

But there are also people who survive by pleasing their seniors, lobbying for better postings/promotions and protecting their own interests.

That's just how large organisations work.

And once I understood this, something changed in me.

I stopped taking the job personally.

This is probably the most important lesson I learnt after almost 10 years in banking.

If you are sincerely doing your work and giving your best, you cannot take responsibility for everything that happens around you.

You cannot control unrealistic targets.

You cannot control management decisions.

You cannot control your boss's ego.

You cannot control whether another department coordinates properly with yours.

You cannot control the business potential of your branch.

And you certainly cannot compensate for an inefficient system by destroying your own health.

A branch in Mumbai, a branch in a small district town and a rural branch cannot have the same business potential.

Competition varies.

Customer behaviour varies.

Other banks' presence varies.

Some banks are naturally stronger in certain regions.

So if another branch achieves ₹X crore and yours doesn't, that doesn't automatically mean you're incompetent.

Sometimes the target itself is unrealistic.

This was something I took way too seriously during my early years.

I used to think:

"Everyone else is achieving it. Why can't I?"

Now I think:

"I'm doing what I reasonably can with the resources and circumstances I have."

And then I move on.

To all the banking aspirants here:

Please understand this before joining a PSB.

It's a job.

A good, stable job.

But it's still a job.

You are not joining to fix the entire banking system.

You are not personally responsible for achieving every target your HO/RO dreams up.

You don't have to destroy your health trying to prove that you are the most sincere employee in the branch.

Do your work sincerely.

Learn.

Improve.

Take responsibility for your mistakes.

But also learn where your responsibility ends.

And most importantly, don't take the bank home with you.

Once you leave the office, leave the office.

Don't spend your evening thinking about tomorrow's target.

Don't ruin your weekend thinking about Monday.

Don't let one angry boss, one bad appraisal, one negative review or one failed target define your self-worth.

The bank will survive without you.

If you resign tomorrow, someone else will sit in your chair.

The branch will open.

The targets will continue.

The reports will continue.

The system will move on.

And you should move on too.

Your family won't get these years back.

Your health won't automatically come back.

Your children won't get another childhood.

Your personal goals won't wait forever.

So if you can't immediately escape a toxic work environment, learn to emotionally detach from it.

Do your best during working hours.

Take your salary.

Build your career.

But build your life too.

Don't let the bank occupy your mind 24/7 for the next 30 years.

I learnt this after almost 10 years of service — around 3 years of field experience and 7 years in HR/administrative work.

And honestly, I wish I had learnt it much earlier.

Maybe I could have saved myself years of unnecessary stress.

For anyone currently struggling with banking:

You are probably doing better than you think.

Don't confuse an unrealistic system with personal incompetence.

And don't sacrifice your entire life just to prove that you're a good employee.

The bank is a part of your life. It shouldn't become your life.

10 years in a PSB taught me one thing: Stop taking your bank job personally