Report comment

From personal experience of having worked long hours over a number of years and being allowed to do so while I made money for my firm, once the wheels fell off, I was made to feel like I was no longer an asset to the firm, who knew that, going forward, I could not work the hours that I felt I had to in order to succeed and meet targets. This kind of pressure is surely common, especially in large firms.

Stress, anxiety and depression were very much the elephant in the room when I returned to work. Sadly my supervisor couldn't even bring herself to simply ask me how I was feeling, let alone look me in the eye any more. Somehow, senior managers seem to lose sight of human decency and openness goes out of the window when one of their own become unwell. This unpleasant behaviour was obvious to my colleagues who were appalled and worried lest they should ever become ill as a result or workplace pressures. Sadly others were treated in a similar way and/or bullied.

I made the decision to move on to another firm (smaller) where I feel valued and where work-life balance isn't a myth. I'm doing really well now.

It seems that not all firms are actually prepared to equip themselves to help employees who develop mental health problems, rather than being ignorant of what help is out there. You would think that the recruitment and locum costs alone, as well as the negative effect on morale, would justify the cost and effort of taking a more preventative and understanding approach.