Despite all the progress we’ve seemingly made, mental health recognition is in a dire state. Taboos shifted or not, awareness increased or not, suffering is still disregarded – and ignorance, across industry and government, is still sadly a status quo. We must shift our attitude to mental health; we must move towards a new era of care, sympathy, and, most importantly, accountability.
Like so many others – approximately one billion people as of 2019, at least – I’ve experienced mental health conditions. I used to work at Goldman Sachs, where I experienced a dysfunctional culture that I found to bring unsustainable hours, unreasonable demands and burnout. I’ve since issued legal proceedings against the company. In response, Goldman have said I was the problem – that I was responsible for working excessive hours and that my claims are without merit.
From what I have seen, in financial services especially, chest-beating alpha males and the ever-unhelpful “get on with it” attitudes have suppressed any meaningful progress. As if the many tragedies and suicide attempts shouldn’t be cause enough, accountability for staff is still elusive.
Source: independent.co.uk
