Employee experience
others want to do everything by the numbers and maximise the efficiency of the human asset.
Rising to the challenge
The pandemic, in short, uncovered a problem that has been brewing for a long time in the banking sector – and lit a fire under the industry’s attempts to improve employee well-being. “In financial services everything that can be automated will be automated and the important jobs will rely on the ability to make good decisions, so people need to be able to think clearly,” notes our source. “Stress is not good for making good decisions.” That’s echoed by the practical steps banks have been taking to support anxious employees. In the midst of the pandemic, for instance, NatWest ramped up its focus on mental, physical, social and financial well-being, in recognition that it underpins key aspects of the bank’s strategy. Following the launch of free online therapy courses for its employees, more than 5,500 NatWest staff signed up in the first six months.
Lloyds Bank, for its part, began offering employees free access to the meditation app, Headspace. Barclays, which started consulting employees about mental health and wellbeing in 2013, has seen its ‘This is Me’ initiative expand significantly. This is Me is designed to confront the stigma around mental health and create a safe environment for sharing personal experiences. In 2013, nine employees shared their stories. Since then, more than 250 have spoken out about disability, neurodiversity and mental health conditions – and momentum continues to build. “All of these interventions have a purpose and have been extremely helpful in progressing the well-being and mental health agenda,” believes Unsted. “For example, storytelling – This is Me – has been a powerful tool to challenge stigma and increase awareness. These are all important, but it needs more to make it effective.”
Such measures could play a major role not only in retaining employees, but also recruiting the next generation. For instance, a recent CMHA survey of people in their early careers revealed that 90% of young professionals say employers have a responsibility to support the positive mental health and well-being of their people, while 47% said that one of the most “important things” they would look for in a future employer is whether it could prioritise their mental health.
Walking the line
All these initiatives doubtless do much good. But a key question is whether the industry is doing more than simply paying lip service to the problem. “The industry does not take it seriously,” our source argues. “Some firms have got good at
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kicking this into the HR department and giving it a budget for employee assistance programmes, which is good and should be celebrated, but the real story on mental health is the role of leaders.” “You can lead people in two ways,” he explains.
“You can create a good environment so that employees follow you, or you can do what you see in financial services, which is negative leadership – do what I tell you or I will punish you by not paying your bonus or hurting your career. Both ways can work in the short term, but the second way creates an environment that puts mental health at risk. If the leader is an arsehole then you’re not going to create an environment where people are at their best.”
Unsted makes a similar point, suggesting that creating a culture of well-being and psychological safety is paramount. So, too, is the development of healthy work environments, which includes ensuring that managers and leaders are mental- health literate and that people have adequate resources and skills to do their job. “Thirdly, providing and signposting to appropriate resources for their people is essential,” Unsted adds. “A growing number of banks rely on the CMHA’s Workplace Mental Health Assessment to track how they are doing against these three pillars.” Stories of abuse certainly abound across the industry. In a report by The Guardian, to give one example, a former analyst reports a partner brandishing a riding crop and whipping the desk of an employee, while another partner screamed at a young female graduate. To put it brutally, then, yoga classes and subscriptions to meditation apps seem unlikely to solve banking’s mental health emergency by themselves. Rather, mental health means not only building workers’ skills in stress management – but creating a genuine culture of well-being. And ultimately, that culture is defined by the people in charge. ●
Leaders must create a culture of well-being and psychological safety in the workplace.
72%
The percentage of investment bankers that is considering leaving the industry to avoid workplace burnout.
86%
The percentage of bankers that have felt forced to take time off due to stress.
32%
The percentage of investment bankers that would like greater support for mental health, including regular check-ins and offers of medical consultations. UpSlide
29
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Shutterstock.com
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