BAI Survey of Financial Services Employees Shows Over a Third Feel the Pandemic Has Had a Negative Impact on Their Mental Health

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Recent research by BAI, a nonprofit independent organization that delivers the financial services industry’s most actionable insights, reveals that while employees’ work/life balance has improved during the pandemic, their mental and physical health and work load have been negatively affected. HR leaders are taking note and looking at ways to preserve the positive impacts of the pandemic work environment, while helping employees work through the personal challenges they are facing.

BAI surveyed more than 250 financial services employees to better understand how the pandemic had affected their personal and professional lives. While the results on work/life balance were positive, the research showed a negative 37% net impact on mental health, a negative 13% net impact on physical health and a negative 22% net impact on workload.

“Increased remote work arrangements with more flexibility in where and when employees work has predictably had a positive impact on work/life balance,” said Karl Dahlgren, managing director at BAI. “However, for the long-term health and engagement of their employees, it is important for financial services leaders to better understand and act on other negative impacts from the pandemic.”

BAI hosted a Fireside Chat Webinar, “The Impact of the Pandemic on Financial Services Leaders,” to walk through the study and discuss how leaders can help employees with things like mental health and workload challenges. Participants included Catherine Garret, Senior Vice President, HR Operations, Technology and Compliance at Comerica Bank, and Dannielle Brown, Head of Employee Experience at M&T Bank. Moderated by Holly Hughes, Chief Marketing Officer at BAI, the discussion included real examples of how the participants are working to help their employees during these transitional times, including extending mental health services, monitoring employee workloads through analytics, and creating manager resources to help employees transition back to the office. The webinar was published November 9 and can be accessed on demand.

About BAI

As a nonprofit, independent organization, BAI has delivered the financial services industry’s most actionable insights for more than 95 years, helping leaders make smart business decisions every day. We provide in-depth, proprietary research to more than 40 of the top US banks, support more than 2,100 financial services organizations with compliance and professional development training, provide trusted, relevant thought leadership through BAI Banking Strategies reports, podcasts and webinars, and offer specialized events and programs. For more information, visit www.bai.org.