The rationale behind staff mental health management

As 2024 draws nearer and the Covid lockdowns become less memorable, businesses worldwide are striving to create a new standard. A few elite Wall Street firms have chosen to return to work for five full days. Others believe that providing permanent teleworking or a cautious combination of the two will give them a competitive edge.

However, some modifications to workplace culture won’t go away. A long-term change in the dynamics between employers and employees has quickened. Employees who formerly concealed their personal battles with stress, depression, and anxiety now feel far more at ease asking for and receiving support.

Demands for workplace support are increasing rather than decreasing as a result of the pandemic, and many employers are beginning to view these kinds of programs as a means of attracting and keeping employees. Therefore, whether they want to or not, white-collar managers must address issues related to work-life balance and mental health head-on.

There are examples everywhere, but the financial services industry is one where the change is most noticeable. These jobs have traditionally required long hours, and many of these companies spearheaded the effort to get workers back into the office.

However, things are shifting. The number of free therapy sessions offered to staff members without a formal referral process has been increased by Bank of New York Mellon from five to twelve. Additionally, starting in the new year, Goldman Sachs will provide mental health education to all of its line managers.

This goes beyond simple acts of kindness or authority. According to estimates from the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety cause 12 billion working days and $1 trillion in lost productivity annually. Additionally, similar to 2021, roughly 25% of all adults in the US experienced mental illness in the previous year. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 reported symptoms at a rate more than twice as high as those over 50: 36% vs 14%.

According to employers, offering mental health services reduces absences and guards against chronic illness. According to Goldman’s chief human resources officer, Jacqueline Arthur, “we need to foster a culture where people are encouraged to talk about their challenges and to raise their hands when they need help.” “Early intervention is really key”.

Additionally, surveys indicate that when choosing an employer, employees now give mental health support a high priority: In a recent Harris poll, 81% of respondents said they would give it “important consideration” when looking for a job.

Not everybody thinks this is a good thing. Awareness campaigns are causing Britons to “conflate normal responses to life’s difficulties with mental-health disorders,” according to a recent warning from The Economist. There’s also a good deal of whispering among investors and senior bankers. A large number of today’s leaders made it through rigorous apprenticeship programs that included flying staplers, 100-hour work weeks, and cruel taunting.

Everyone admits to feeling a little taken advantage of by today’s 20-somethings, even though they don’t want to see open misogyny and bullying return. At the height of the 2021 investment banking boom, a group of Goldman Sachs analysts assembled a PowerPoint complaining about excessive workload. The reaction on Wall Street was divided as to whether or not these analysts were valid complaints or “snowflakes” who should go find another line of work.

Such complaints are not unusual, if they sound that way. Books like Listening to Prozac from thirty years ago warned that the new depression medications would change people’s personalities and lead to “cosmetic pharmacology,” or the pumping of drugs into people who weren’t actually sick. In fact, although deaths have progressively increased since, the US suicide rate declined significantly in the 1990s due to the increased use of antidepressants and better coverage of mental healthcare.

Human resources departments report that workers are seeking assistance earlier in the process, before they become seriously ill. Many younger employees expect the same kind of support at work because they attended universities with readily available mental health services.

Innovations from the Covid era, like mindfulness and meditation applications, online talk therapy, and “wellness” days that provide time off for rest and rejuvenation, are still widely used. “In the past people were using services at a moment of crisis. Now people are getting a little tune-up,” People are currently receiving a minor tune-up, according to Sharyn Jones, the acting co-head of people at BNY Mellon.

But without a shift in culture, none of this will succeed. This month, BNY Mellon and Citigroup both took initiative by encouraging staff to use the final two weeks of December to unwind and by lifting the in-office requirement. In a recent interview, Robin Vince, the chief executive of BNY Mellon, stated, “There’s a certain humanity associated with letting people also make sure that they’re focusing on their lives, particularly in important times of year.”

Traditionalists who believe in maintaining a stiff upper lip may wince, but promoting self-care is wise business when the biggest expense is still people.