From a burned-out bank boss to call centre workers isolated at home, the financial sector is suffering a surge in mental health issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the industry’s cut-throat reputation, senior bankers have responded to the extra strain by rolling out additional help and opening up about their own vulnerabilities.
“It’s okay to feel overwhelmed by what life is throwing at me and mine,” wrote Susan Revell, deputy chair of the $41 trillion asset Bank of New York Mellon’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business.
In a handwritten note Revell, along with other BNY colleagues, shared personal experiences with the institution’s 48,500 staff. She juggles work with caring for elderly relatives and other family struck with ill health and redundancy.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup,” Revell told Reuters. “If I’m not in good shape then I can’t support either my family or my colleagues.”
Her note encouraged colleagues from Brazil to Hong Kong to share their own stories and advice.
While banks have for several years been paying greater attention to wellbeing, new initiatives from free therapy to online yoga have proliferated during the pandemic – though they are not always reaching junior staff.
In England, a major global banking centre, as many as 10 million people will need new or additional mental health support, The Centre for Mental Health charity says.
-REUTERS