A Notsie narrative perspective on turnover in the UK financial services industry

Abstract

Drawing on a cultural perspective from the Global South, Notsie narrative, a West African literary folklore, we explore the high churn rate in the UK financial services industry. Viewing the storied accounts of former financial complaint handlers through a Notsie narrative lens, we examine why they frequently quit their well-paid jobs. Our study elucidates how the relentless pursuit of efficiency culminates in managerial tyranny–a set of impulsive and oppressive organizing practices that combine to precipitate high turnover. The wisdom of our Notsie narrative perspective centres on the importance of relationality–the skilled ways of interrelating that create connections between people, and what it means for the Notsie kingdom being doomed to collapse without its people; a wisdom seemingly overlooked and undervalued in western ways of knowing, located in individualism, rationality, and instrumentalism.