Authors: Laurence Voutsinou, Vangelis Manouvelos

Title: The role of the Voluntary Separation Schemes in the Greek Banking sector during the financial crisis.

Abstract

Global trends in business management, in relation to the pressure to improve costs, quality and performance, have created several trends in the context of human resources management, such as the Voluntary Separation Scheme. The existing research shows that employees are differentiated regarding their views on deciding on this scheme, while negative feelings are often generated to the workforce. Among the main benefits for the firm are the reduction of operating costs and the improved profitability.

During the financial crisis the staff of Greek banks was reduced from 65,682 persons in 2009 to 45,654 in 2014, i.e. 30% of posts were lost within four years. The cuts continued in the following years as well, resulting in 38,536 bank employees at the end of 2018, and currently estimated at less than 36,000.

Voluntary separation scheme is an often phenomenon to the banking sector, but there is limited research in relation to its effect on the Bank and the employee. The purpose of the thesis is to study the role of Voluntary Separation Scheme in the Greek banking sector, focusing on its impact on the stress levels of bank employees and on the financial situation of Greek banks. We examine the stress impact through an online quantitative survey using the questionnaire scale of perceived anxiety constructed by Cohen, Karmarck, & Mermelstein (1983), towards a sample of at least 100 bank employees in Greece. Finally, a financial analysis is carried out regarding the four systemic banks in Greece, during the financial crisis.