Crisis Takes Its Toll On Bankers

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday October 18, 2008

Paul Bibby and Danny John

HUNDREDS have lost their homes, thousands have watched their investments crumble, and a generation will be affected by superannuation losses - but spare a thought for the bankers.

The global financial crisis is taking an emotional toll on Australia's financial sector workers, with a number of institutions seeking counselling for their workers.

The workplace injury service Workcare has been contacted by a financial institution about counselling for employees experiencing high levels of stress.

The service said it could not name the institution for privacy reasons, but the Herald understands it is in Sydney and has been hit hard by the meltdown on international financial markets.

Workcare's Chief Operational Officer, Kevin Zammit, said his staff were developing a program to help finance-sector workers deal with the stress created by the financial crisis. "We're beginning to see an increase in the instances of stress-related trauma and injury claims as a result of the crisis," he said.

Nearly all of the big financial institutions - including the financially stressed investment banks, retail banks and fund managers - provide counselling services for their staff, which are normally used for personal crises.

Insiders at Macquarie Bank's Sydney headquarters said a regular session run by the national depression service Beyond Blue last week was very well attended.

"People who haven't seen something like this before could experience it in a personal way, seizing on it as a failure in their career," Beyond Blue's clinical adviser, Michael Baigent, said.

James Bone - Page 47

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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