Immaterial bank work, leisure and the experience of personal contemporary quandaries

This article seeks to understand the interaction between immaterial work and leisure in the ways that workers from a private commercial bank live and work, and whether this interaction could be considered as personal contemporary quandaries. The study, which is of an exploratory nature, involved 15 individuals who were interviewed at their work stations. The content analysis gave birth to the theoretical framework on immaterial banking work, leisure and personal contemporary quandaries, being supported by authors such as Bauman (2007), Castells (2000), Dumazedier (2008), Dejours (2008) and Gaulejac (2007). The results show that immaterial banking work interferes with and even impedes leisure for bank workers and can result in personal quandaries, since their choices concerning duty and leisure do not result in satisfactory alternatives. If they opt for leisure, they preserve their family relationships but are scorned by their colleagues; if they choose work, they preserve their relationships with their colleagues but receive complaints from their families, for example.