"By being supportive of recruits with past, present or possible mental health issues, people in their early careers are more likely to flourish. "
The Thriving From The Start network, which will be run and managed by people in their early careers, aims to create a supportive community for recent joiners to financial services companies in the City including banks, law firms, insurers and accountancy firms.
Recent research from the CMHA on the mental health of students and graduates hoping to work within the financial and professional services revealed that 69% described themselves as having experienced mental health issues and 62% of them said they were worried about the impact of a new job on their mental health.
The research also highlighted that early careers job seekers have a range of worries about the transition into the workplace. 74% of students and graduates are concerned about meeting the expectations of new employers and 78% worried about the cost of living in a big City.
The Thriving From The Start network will also offer a feedback tool for City employers, providing HR teams with insights into mental health and wellbeing of new joiners to the City, and suggestions for good practice.
Representatives from CMHA member organisations including Linklaters, The Bank of England and PWC, among others, have been involved in the design of the network.
Patrick Watt, leader of the CMHA graduate mental health programme and corporate director at Bupa, said: “We believe that this new mental health network will provide people in their early careers with a safe space to discuss mental health openly, in a supportive environment. For many people, support from peers can be as helpful as support from professionals. The network will also help to signpost people to the support they need, if they are experiencing poor mental health.
“By being supportive of recruits with past, present or possible mental health issues, people in their early careers are more likely to flourish. Through this network, we are aiming for the business leaders of tomorrow to be mental health literate and thus drive change around mental health in the workplace. Helping this young generation of City workers to understand and be aware of mental health is absolutely essential for creating mentally healthy workplaces in the City.”
Anastasia Vinnikova, a member of the Early Careers Recruitment Team and the Mental Health Network co-chair at the Bank of England, added: “As a recruiter, over the last few years I have noticed that the student narrative on campus is changing. Increasingly, we are approached by students who are concerned about how their mental health and wellbeing needs are going to be met by future employers. Many of these individuals are living with mental health issues and are concerned about how the transition from education into work will impact them. At the Bank of England, we have a mental health employee network and we know from experience how networks like these can provide the support employees need. So it’s fantastic to be part of launching a first of its kind network specifically for employees when they are starting out in their careers.”
