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Upgrade to Premium Mental health is becoming finance’s new bottom line Jared Blikre Sun, Nov 3, 2024, 10:30 AM 3 min read
Listen and subscribe to Stocks in Translation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Mental health is emerging after a long-standing silence in finance.
For decades, personal struggles were pushed aside, considered irrelevant, or worse — made to seem a sign of weakness. But as workplace losses due to burnout, absenteeism, and lower productivity add up, Wall Street firms are starting to pay attention.
The numbers are staggering, and the conversation is shifting. Nearly 1 in 5 US workers rate their own mental health as less than "good," according to a recent Gallup panel. The resulting unplanned absences are estimated to cost the US economy nearly $50 billion each year.
Shawn Lesser knows the stakes all too well. After spending decades in the world of private equity, he suffered a mental breakdown in 2022 during an investor call that led him to rethink everything. He would eventually found the mental health foundation The Real (often stylized in all caps), endowing it with a mission "to build a community to support and foster the mental health and well-being of men across the globe."
Lesser's story mirrors a broader problem in finance, where high stress, long hours, and competition can take a heavy toll. His breakdown didn’t happen overnight, and it was not unique.
“Mental health doesn’t discriminate," says Lesser, adding, "Some of the richest people have the most problems."
As the financial toll of mental health challenges adds up, employers are listening.
Charging Bull bronze sculpture in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York, United States, on Oct. 23, 2022. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images) · NurPhoto via Getty Images
Companies are starting to invest in worker well-being — not just as a form of goodwill, but as a strategy. Healthier employees mean more productive employees, which means more profit. Lesser says this aligning of incentives is key.
“If you have a healthy workforce, how much more money are you going to get?” he asks rhetorically, referring to the fewer absentee days taken by happier employees. The old culture of “powering through” is being replaced with one that sees mental healthcare as a business asset, not a weakness.
The Real is built on three core principles: conversations, community, and change. Talking about mental health — the first "C" — is the first step. Lesser has personally shared his story of overcoming depression and anxiety with over 1,000 individuals.
For the community aspect, Lesser has toured the country, with an eye toward global expansion. Lesser aims to reach 10,000 members through peer-to-peer support initiatives like Real Walks and the Real App, which offer a safe space for men to find mental health sponsors and share their experiences.
Lesser draws heavily on his own experience early in recovery when he was able to lean on someone who had survived a similar ordeal.
“I had a mental health sponsor because he went through something similar to me. He could say, ‘I know exactly how you feel,'" said Lesser, adding, "That’s what people need — connection.”
Focusing on human connection and challenging outdated norms err toward silence is just the beginning. The pandemic put new bargaining power in the hands of labor on multiple fronts, and employers have learned that investing in worker well-being is becoming nonnegotiable.
And it’s not just about reducing costs — it’s about humanizing the workplace.
“Everyone is just human. The first step is to open up and speak to a friend or a family member,” Lesser said.
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How a strong jobs market has kept the stock rally going
On Yahoo Finance's podcast Stocks in Translation, Yahoo Finance editor Jared Blikre and producer Sydnee Fried cut through the market mayhem, noisy numbers, and hyperbole to bring you essential conversations and insights from across the investing landscape, providing you with the critical context needed to make the right decisions for your portfolio. Find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.
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