Abstract

This study examines the working lives of eight female bank tellers in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It considers three questions: (1) how do tellers define, and relate to, their jobs which are subject to considerable change and are of doubtful security? (2) how do the bank tellers cope with the daily demands of the job? (3) how do the bank tellers justify their involvement in their work roles, and to what degree do these justifications result in feelings of satisfaction with their jobs? The thesis considers how the bank tellers handle their occupational roles within a job that is undergoing significant change and possible elimination. A Goffmanesque approach focuses upon the role-playing activities of bank tellers in their interactions with clients. Added to the analysis are the effects of technological innovations on the interviewees' work demands. Among the main findings this study found that several tellers drew a comparison between telling in the past and present. Two distinct views of bank telling also emerged from the sample; bank telling as a profession and bank telling as an insecure, part-time job. Finally, many of the tellers described how bank telling is perceived to be more prestigious than it actually is. The significance of this latter finding arises from the fact that, for those who work as tellers, it is an insecure job characterized by low pay, high targets and on-going training. These findings extend the application of Goffman's approach by pointing out how tellers interpret their performance and thereby deal with role demands that offer little in the way of job satisfaction nor job security.