As 2024 approaches and COVID-related shutdowns fade into memory, businesses around the world are trying to establish a new normal.
Some of Wall Street’s largest firms have moved to bring employees back to work in the office for 5 full days, others see a competitive advantage in allowing permanent remote working, while there is a conservative mix between the two.
There are also some changes in workplace culture that aren’t going away, as a decades-long shift in how employers and employees interact accelerates. Workers who keep their personal struggles with stress, depression, and anxiety inside without revealing them to anyone also feel more comfortable sharing their pain and seeking help.
After being muted during the pandemic, calls for workplace support are on the rise, and many employers are starting to see these things as a way to attract and retain employees. This means that white-collar leaders have to deal directly with mental health and work-life balance issues with personal ones, whether they want to or not.
Examples abound all around us, but the transformation seems particularly evident in the financial services sector, as this type of work has always required long and difficult working hours, and many of these companies have worked to bring employees back to the office.
Changes are already happening: Bank of New York Mellon recently increased the number of free psychotherapy sessions available to employees without a formal referral process. Goldman Sachs will also provide training to all executives early next year on how to address mental health issues.
The issue here is not about generosity or paternity, as the World Health Organization estimates that 12 million working days, worth $1 trillion, are lost each year due to depression and anxiety.
In the United States, about a quarter of adults have suffered from mental illness in the past year, as was the case in 2021. Young people aged 18 to 25 are more than twice as likely to report symptoms as those in their 50s. years and the percentage is 36% versus 14%.
Employers point out that providing mental healthcare helps reduce absences and prevents them from falling prey to long illnesses. In this regard, Jacqueline Arthur, head of human resources at Goldman Sachs, said: “We need to foster a culture that encourages people to talk about the challenges they face and to raise their hands when they need help.”
He continued: “Early intervention is a really important key.”
Surveys also indicate that workers are increasingly focusing on the availability of mental health support when choosing an employer, and 81% in a recent Harris poll thought this would be “important to consider in their next job search ”.
But not everyone sees this as a positive, as The Economist recently warned on its pages that awareness campaigns are causing Britons to “mistake normal responses to life’s difficulties with mental health disorders”.
There are also many complaints among senior bankers and investors who point out that many of today’s leaders have been overwhelmed by harsh job training programs involving 100-hour-a-week jobs, as well as constant harassment and, in some cases, the launch of staplers to some people.
While no one wants to return to overt misogyny and bullying, they admit they find 20-year-olds a little spoiled.
When some Goldman Sachs analysts gave a PowerPoint presentation complaining about the pressure of hard work in the midst of the investment banking boom in 2021, opinions on Wall Street were certainly divided, as to whether they raised a legitimate complaint or were part of the “generation “snowflake”. » Fragile, and therefore they should look for a different profession.
If such complaints sound familiar, that’s because they are. Thirty years ago, books like “Listen to Prozac” warned about new antidepressants.
It would thus reshape the human personality and lead to a “cosmetic pharmacology” that injects drugs into people who are not truly ill, but in reality, widespread use of antidepressants and better mental health care coverage are credited with declining rates of suicide in the United States. United in the 1990s. The past, although deaths have increased slightly and gradually since then.
Today, human resources departments report that employees are seeking support early, before illness strikes. Many younger employees come from universities, where mental health services were already available, and expect similar support in the workplace.
Usage remains high for Covid-era innovations, such as online therapy sessions, mindfulness and meditation apps, as well as “wellness” days, which offer free time to recover and recharge.
However, many older people still don’t feel comfortable speaking out, much less seeking help for mental health issues. This places the responsibility on companies to create an environment where such discussions are welcomed.
In this regard, the rapid spread of voluntary employee seminars, “first responder” and first aid mental health programs are positive steps.
But none of this will work without a cultural shift. Therefore, both Citigroup and BNY Mellon have taken steps in this direction this month, suspending mandatory office work during the last two weeks of December, as well as appealing to employees to use this period to recover and strengthen their resolve.
“There is a certain human dimension associated with allowing people to focus on their lives, especially at important times of the year,” said Robin Vince, CEO of BNY Mellon, in a recent interview.
Traditionalists might be troubled by this, but it’s smart to encourage self-care when human talent is the most important cost.
2023-12-29 22:32:23
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