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Slump gives City mental health crisis
Anna Davis and Sophie Goodchild23 Jun 2008
More City workers are suffering mental health problems because of extreme stress caused by the credit crunch, it was revealed today.
Clinics serving the City are reporting a huge rise in calls from bankers and traders facing the threat of redundancy.
Emergency helplines are dealing with a record number of men at risk of suicide and women executives with eating disorders brought on by chronic stress.
Jonathan Naess, a director at corporate finance house Nabarro Wells before suffering a breakdown, warned there could be an epidemic of credit crunch-related mental illness in the Square Mile.
One London clinic has seen a 20 per cent rise in patients in two weeks. The Harley Street Practice, where most patients are from City and Docklands firms, said it was the busiest June in 15 years.
Consultant psychotherapist Bennedict Cannon said: "I'm getting middle managers, department heads, directors and line managers having very distressed, unrealistic and worrying thoughts."
LifeWorks, a helpline used by London's major banks and financial firms, has received 3,500 calls from people with anxiety and depression - a 10 per cent rise on last year. Project director James Slater said: "In the present climate, people are worried about redundancies and a potential recession which adds to people's anxiety-and can tip them over the edge." The City Psychology Group, with offices in Harley Street, is treating executives with stress-related illnesses such as stomach complaints. Director Dr Michael Sinclair said these are caused by the City's culture of stigma which forces people to suppress mental health problems. He said: "People are feeling more lost than usual because they can't move jobs easily so they can't see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Mr Naess, founder of anti-stigma charity Stand to Reason, blamed macho attitudes for the fact staff are suffering in silence. He said: "We must stop being judgmental about people with mental illness."
Just over a quarter of blue-chip companies are signed up to Employee Assistance Programmes compared with two in five in the public sector. EAPs are used by firms to run confidential telephone helplines. Deloitte & Touche and UBS openly promote their counselling schemes, but Goldman Sachs refuses to comment on how it supports staff.
Mental health charity Mind today called on more firms to employ counsellors.
Reader views (4)
I think respondents have totally missed the point of this article. The problem is that employers are failing to recognise, manage or support mental health in the work place which is leading to a high volume of stress related illnesses. Employers need to work to address the existing stigma surround mental ill health, and clearly recognise when external factors are affecting the health of their employees.
- Anon, Hackney, 25/06/2008 12:40
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Do you seriously expect me to feel sorry for for city workers at risk of losing their job. Well,apparently they can still afford Harley street clinics fees. They seem to forget that the majority of the population earn far, far less. Welcome to the real world!
- Herve, London, 24/06/2008 08:37
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"We must stop being judgemental about people with mental illness(es).
- Harold A. Maio, Ft Myers FL USA, 23/06/2008 13:52
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It is not just those in the City who are under stress. Everyone I know is working very long hours and this is causing enormous problems. Welcome to the modern world.
You wait, once the full recession arrives in early 2009 you will have numerous bankruptcies, divorces, plunging house prices and all the other economic and social goodies mixed in.
This country and the USA have gorged themselves on debt. Well back luck, time to pay the price boys and girls.
- Mgrelton, London, 23/06/2008 13:01
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