By Dr. Rati Chandra:India's BFSI sector has long operated on a principle most insiders know all too well: chase time, chase targets, chase outcomes. In the process, however, we've ignored the most finite resource of all: human energy. The crisis of work-life balance in financial services is no longer a quiet discomfort; it has become a systemic risk. Perhaps it's time to borrow a page from finance itself. Just as institutions balance financial portfolios to manage volatility, we must begin managing human energy as a portfolio that is diversified, buffered, and thoughtfully allocated.

This isn't a philosophical idea but an operational necessity. The past five years have brought a digital and compliance boom, expanding client bases, 24x7 servicing models, and increased pressure to cross-sell across product lines. From entry-level sales executives to compliance officers and relationship managers, nearly every role today blends high cognitive demand with sharp performance metrics. A 2024 study by MediBuddy and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) reported that nearly 62% of Indian employees experience burnout. This is three times the global average. Similarly, a joint report by FICCI and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) placed the figure at 58%. In another study from Kerala, 82% of bank employees showed moderate to high burnout levels. These are not fringe findings; they are red flags.

Time Isn't the Real Problem-Energy Is

Despite the growing conversation around employee well-being, work-life balance is often misunderstood as an equal split of hours between work and home. True balance is not about a clock; it's about energy. It is the rhythm between activity and rest, the harmony between intensity and recovery. Some weeks will demand more, others less. What matters is whether this cycle is acknowledged and honoured by both the individual and the institution.

As an academic institution working closely with the financial services sector, we've seen that while wellness programs have increased, structured thinking around energy management remains rare. Targets are carefully planned, but recovery is not. Teams are staffed for outcomes, but not for emotional buffers. We propose a framework that treats human energy with the same seriousness as financial capital: the Portfolio Approach to Human Energy.

The Portfolio Approach to Human Energy

In this model, teams are consciously diversified across intensity zones. Not everyone is deployed in high-volatility roles all the time. Just as a financial portfolio spreads capital across equities, debt, and long-term bonds, work allocation should allow for recovery, meaning and continuity. After a quarter of aggressive campaigning, a relationship manager might be moved to a training assignment. A high-pressure audit cycle can be followed by a phase of process documentation or mentoring. These are not productivity losses; they are resilience-building investments.

Sceptics may argue that this is unrealistic in a sector driven by quarter-ends, regulatory deadlines, and market demands. But burnout results in attrition, errors, absenteeism, and disengagement. All these cost more in the long run than regular replenishment. It is no coincidence that global institutions are experimenting with protected quiet hours, no-meeting days, and project-based sabbaticals. Some Indian firms are beginning to adopt flexible team structures that rotate roles based on intensity rather than function.

Energy Stewardship: The New Leadership Skill

Workforce energy can no longer be left to personal discipline alone. Leaders must learn not just performance tracking but energy stewardship. Just as no fund manager keeps capital in high-risk assets indefinitely, no team should remain in pressure cycles without relief. Human energy is a renewable asset if managed wisely. Left unmanaged, it will deplete.

This also presents an opportunity: embedding this model into early career training could create a generation of financial professionals who value sustainability alongside speed. Imagine if every young banker learned to manage not just an account portfolio but also an energy portfolio. That is not soft thinking; it is strategic readiness.

As India's financial sector grows in both digital sophistication and social reach, its true backbone will remain human. Protecting that backbone requires more than wellness webinars. It needs operational design. At its core, work-life balance is about rhythm: the right tempo between activity and rest, between pressure and pause. It must be treated as essential as compliance and as vital as capital adequacy. In the long run, no institution can thrive on depleted energy, not even a bank.

(Dr. Rati Chandra is an Emotional Well-Being Coach and Certified Counselor with professional experience as a Manager in a leading private bank. She currently serves as a faculty member at the Manipal Academy of BFSI, where she integrates her expertise in emotional intelligence and workplace wellness into leadership and professional training.)

Manipal Academy of BFSI is a premier institution that has trained over two lakh officers across leading banks and insurance companies in India, making a significant impact on talent development in the BFSI sector.

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