For many people, the professional world is one of the biggest sources of stress in life. Deadlines, performance reviews, and workplace dynamics can all contribute to heightened stress. It doesn’t help that work is also usually one’s livelihood.
It’s also true that some professions are more stressful than others. Working on Wall Street, where a fast-paced, winner-take-all culture pervails, is near the top of the list. The culture on Wall Street is known for prioritizing work life over personal life, and this mentality places little value on mental health.
In fact, there’s a mental health stigma on Wall Street. It’s something that prevents professionals from recognizing their own struggles and getting adequate support. Let’s learn more about this stigma, including where it comes from and how to deal with it.
What Is a Stigma?
A stigma is a negative judgment or attitude toward someone or something based on a specific circumstance, characteristic, or trait. Stigmas can be associated with culture, gender, race, religion, sexuality, and even mental health.
Why Is There a Mental Health Stigma?
There has been a stigma around mental health for a very long time. This stigma is based on negative attitudes toward people struggling with mental health, those diagnosed with a mental health condition, and those seeking treatment.
A variety of factors contribute to the stigma and continue to perpetuate it. On Wall Street, the culture of high performance and the importance of profit over everything else make mental health take a back seat. Other common reasons for the stigma around mental health are listed below:
- Condescending language
- Cultural beliefs
- General beliefs
- Lack of awareness or understanding
- Limited resources or education
- Misinformation
- Stereotypes
- Use of labels
The Impact of a Mental Health Stigma
The stigma surrounding mental health can have a serious impact on one’s well-being. Below are a few of the different ways that this stigma can impact someone, especially in a workplace like Wall Street.
Worsening Signs and Symptoms
If an employee feels like they can’t reach out for help, the signs and symptoms they’re experiencing are likely to keep getting worse. These include things like difficulty sleeping, trouble building and maintaining relationships, or a lack of focus. Over time, these effects can start to creep into other areas of their life and cause additional problems.
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
This lack of support from feeling unable to seek treatment leaves employees to fend for themselves. Instead of reaching out for the help they need and deserve, many will resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms or reckless behaviors, such as substance use or gambling.
Isolation
Employees who have mental health challenges often worry that they will get a bad reputation, be discriminated against, or lose their jobs. Unfortunately, the stigma related to mental health in the workplace contributes to these fears. It can cause people to avoid seeking the help they need and lead to isolation.
Company-Wide Issues
The mental health stigma doesn’t just impact the employees in the workplace; it can impact the entire company. When employees are unable to work due to worsening mental health, the employer suffers. Mental health struggles also lead to a decrease in productivity, which can negatively impact the company and lead employees to feeling burnt out.
How to Get Help
No matter whether you’re an entry-level employee or part of senior leadership, mental health is important. The mental health stigma in places like Wall Street is dangerous and unnecessary. Mental health challenges are common, and most are completely treatable. Companies that put the needs of their employees first are the most successful.
Interested in learning more about addressing mental health challenges for yourself or your company? Reach out today to set up a consultation for career counseling.
