SFE Spotlight | International Men’s Health Month

In December 2021, SFE Young Professionals shared the findings of research they’d led on mental health in the financial and related professional services industry in Scotland. It identified that work was a major factor contributing to mental health issues, but also the role of employers in helping to support people and improve wellbeing. They grouped the key actions they wanted industry to take into four broad areas: culture, capability, communication and covid-19 recovery. Since then, SFE, in partnership with the Young Professionals, has been leading a programme of activity to support these action areas. This interview and article forms part of that programme.

Steven Hill, Head of Policy and External Affairs at Royal London

Steven, thank you for agreeing to speak to us about mental health, which I know is something you’re passionate about. I’ve outlined the work that SFE has been doing and the themes we’re looking at. Where should we start this conversation?

I guess my starting point is what do I think somebody reading this would find helpful? And I feel that the more people speak out – especially people in visible or more senior positions– and share that they’ve struggled or had difficulties with their mental health, the better. It helps to normalise what other people are going through, and that’s really important, as dealing with mental health challenges can feel like a very lonely experience.

To share my own experience, I’ve had 3 major mental health episodes. The first time, in 2013, I had no idea what was going on. It really felt like it was unique to me, and that I was on my own. Thankfully there has been a positive shift since then in terms of visibility and the fact that we’re talking more openly about mental health in society. But I still feel business and industry has further to go than many other areas of life. Sport, and the entertainment industry, for example, have more visible role models. And the fact that many people still feel uncomfortable talking about mental health leads me to believe there’s still plenty of stigma and cultural issues in our industry.

It's really key for anyone who’s struggling to know that others have been through it, and come out the other side. And that means more senior people being open and honest about their experiences.

You mentioned that society’s attitude to mental health has improved since your first episode in 2013. How is that?

I’ll give an example. At the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) annual conference last year, there was a session where Alastair Campbell, former 10 Downing Street Director of Communications – and a fellow Burnley fan – was talking about his experiences with mental health. Talking openly about the days – within the past month - when he couldn’t get himself out of bed to face the day.

I can’t tell you how significant and powerful that was for me. Here was a man who had been one of the most powerful people in British politics, talking openly and in vivid detail to a room of 300 professional people about his mental health struggles. I don’t think that would have happened ten years ago.

We talked before starting the interview about the systems that different organisations have in place to support their employees’ mental wellbeing (the ‘capability’ pillar of SFE’s plan). What has helped in your own experience?

I think it’s important to understand that everyone’s mental health experiences are different, and what works for some won’t for others. And while it is human nature to want to help people and find solutions, unfortunately dealing with mental health isn’t that straightforward. I didn’t always know what I needed at the time I was unwell. It was difficult to think clearly, make decisions, or answer questions.

Just listening to someone and enabling them to talk can be incredibly helpful. And by extension, the most important thing you can do if you are struggling is to tell somebody. When I’ve opened up and been honest about how I’m feeling, the support from colleagues – as well as friends and family – has been overwhelmingly positive, and you quickly realise that mental health is something that has touched most people’s lives in one way or another.

Taking time off work helped me, although the feeling of guilt and of letting colleagues down was incredibly difficult to overcome at first. My counsellor helped me to see that it would be totally counter-productive to return to work if I wasn’t mentally well enough – it would be like trying to run a marathon two weeks after suffering a calf muscle injury, and ultimately I would break down again, which would be bad for me and for the business. Analogies with physical health really work for me – we need to accept that our minds are susceptible to injury just like other parts of our body, and they need to be given time to heal.

More generally, I don’t think there’s a silver bullet to getting better; rather, it’s a combination of things. Medication has really helped me, but it’s not for everyone. Exercise - in particular running - and generally being outdoors help to lift my mood, as does having time to myself, which is not always easy when you have young children. But the concept of ‘you need to fit your own oxygen mask first before you help others’ is so true. If you don’t feel well yourself, you are unlikely to be able to give other people – whether that be your kids, friends, work colleagues – the support they need.

Is there anything that firms, or SFE, can do that would help?

Workplace support systems are often quite uniform in nature– and generally speaking we’re very fortunate in financial services to have the resources we have like access to private healthcare or counselling services. But these need to be complimented with the right culture, and an understanding of diversity and the fact that individual experiences differ. Workplace processes don’t always reflect the different journeys people go on and the flexibility required to meet individual needs.

Many firms have ‘mental health first aiders’, and employee ambassador, networks. Invariably they are people who’ve had direct experience of mental health, either themselves or a family member. The terminology might not quite be right, but this type of network can be helpful in encouraging people to reach out for support. As an extension of this, I wonder if SFE could have a network of people who make themselves available to talk to, across the industry?

One of the reasons I’m so passionate about talking about this stuff is that I know what it was like for me and how isolated I felt, especially that first time. If I can help just one person to feel relatable, or to speak up, then that’s worthwhile. And it’s not purely altruistic. Being able to help others by drawing on my own experiences, means I can extract something positive from those very painful episodes.

I do feel strongly that line managers need a lot more support in helping colleagues with mental health problems. As I mentioned earlier, if I don’t know what I need and am just trying to survive each day, how is my manager supposed to know what’s ‘best’ for me? The nature of the dynamic with a line manager, and also occupational health approaches which are often transactional and process-orientated, can make this difficult.

It's Men’s Health Awareness Month, and specifically, International Men’s Day on 19th November. Are there any gendered aspects relevant to this?

To be honest, not many – lots of the areas we’ve talked about, such as balancing the needs of family and work, or the work environment aren’t different because I’m a man. The main thing really is that cultural norm where men don’t as readily speak up and talk about our emotions. That myth that men are meant to be strong and to bash through any challenges, be ambitious, overcome things.

But it’s amazing how quickly that stereotype is changing and how outdated and harmful we’re coming to realise that expectation on men is. I come from a very traditional ‘northern bloke’ background. I set up a WhatsApp group with a couple of my mates and named it ‘No Ladies, Just Mental men’. I find humour is important when dealing with mental health issues – it helps to normalise them and make them less scary. The sole purpose of that group is to check up with each other once in a while in a more open and honest way, to see how we’re really doing.

And in terms of career and expectations, I think we’re getting better generally at understanding it’s important for everyone to have work-life balance, to not be solely fixated on our jobs, and get too tied up in ourselves and our work. Employers tell us that, and they’re getting better at making the actions and experience tie up with the corporate narrative.

Similarly, I feel like I now have a better perspective of where work sits in the order of things. From time-to-time I find it helpful to remind myself that what I do or do not achieve at work doesn’t - and never will - define me as a human being.  

I began by asking you where I thought we should start the conversation… now I’m wondering about the best way to finish this discussion.

I think it’s worth going back to that initial point about what people reading this might find helpful. Each of us is feeling pressure right now, with everything we’ve faced in the past few years, and what we expect over the next few months. It’s natural to be worried about what’s going on in the world, about money, relationships, or anything else. You are not alone if you are feeling that it’s all getting too much.

We need to support each other, give people genuine opportunities to speak up, encourage people to find time, take a walk in nature – whatever they need. Easy to say, less easy to do, but we need to try not to put too much pressure on ourselves. And if you’re struggling, tell someone. You’ll get a better reception than you fear and it’s the beginning of the way through.

Steven Hill
Head of Policy and External Affairs
Royal London