| The recent financial crisis began in 2006 and was partially initiated by unscrupulous lending practices of mortgage lenders during the surge in the subprime mortgage lending market. The overall purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to gain a deeper insight into the lived experiences of loan officers working in financial institutions before, during, and after the Financial Crisis of 2008. The participants in this study were loan officers working in financial institutions with their current organization for a period of at least eight years. This would ensure they would be able to give a detailed account of the transition during this time. Permission was gained from each financial institution and a designated contact person e-mailed the consent forms to the participants in the study. Twenty loan officers participated in this study. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted. Each interview was transcribed and sent to each participant for review. The interviews with the participants yielded several themes. Among the themes that were discovered during the interview process were: (1) rewarding career, (2) relaxed work environment, (3) compensation, (4) fear and anxiety, (5) increased workload, (6) strain on family, and (7) stress and burnout. |
