The City may not be woke, but is it waking up to wellness?
Photis Kassianides spent 25 years working on equity trading floors in the City before setting up a divorce coaching service for high-achieving men. He writes about the destagmitisation of wellness in today’s Notebook
The destigmatisation of wellness for City men
Something has been quietly afoot in the City over the last few months. Wellness practices that were once openly scoffed at have become almost commonplace.
People have been quietly admitting to all sorts of routines previously considered ridiculous. Ice-bathing? Yep. Fasting? Done that. Breath-work? Count me in. Meat-reducing, 30-phytonutrient weekly meal-prep? Obviously. Pilates, journalling, meditation? Yes, yes, and yes.
Seeing this change first hand at the FIX EMEA trading conference in London was a real eye-opener. I’d attended the event in St Paul’s for years as a sales-trader, working for banks including JP Morgan, UBS and Bank of America Merril Lynch. But this year was a first for me as a coach. My company, Emotional Equity, which helps coach high-achieving men through divorce, had a stand at the Wellness Hub alongside a Pilates instructor, breath-work specialists and a wellbeing solutions business that were offering blood-pressure tests.
It was great to reconnect with former colleagues, clients and peers and see how much the conversation around wellbeing has evolved. Not so long-ago topics like stress, burnout and divorce were things many of us simply kept to ourselves. You got on with the job and dealt with it privately. (Especially, but not exclusively, the men.)
The idea of traders attending a breathwork workshop during a conference would have sounded like madness a few short years ago. But on the day they were curious, engaged and open to trying something different.
For someone who has worked in banking and made the switch to the wellness sector, it’s encouraging to see the conversation changing, and how City firms are looking at preventative wellbeing services. Poor employee mental health . The UK financial sector has the highest proportion of staff burnout and the highest average annual cost per employee.
It’s so much better to help your staff before they have an issue. Good for them, good for the bottom-line. A win-win.
One small step for man…
When you’re divorced or are going through the process, weekends can sometimes feel more like hours to get through rather than enjoy. So the chance to talk things through or just get out of the house can be a game-changer.
Last weekend I hosted a Walk & Talk on Clapham Common, the first event of its kind specifically for divorced men in South London. I expected to be doing the walk alone. It would be ‘symbolic’ my brother said. Happy to say I was joined by a mix of hedge funders and bankers. I was surprised how good it made me feel. Who knew?
A trip with my daughter
‘Do this for me. You’ll be uncomfortable but do it anyway!’
‘No Florence, I am under no circumstances holding some stranger’s hand.’
Thankfully, Florence’s request was to put our phones away, to enjoy the show. I was at a Florence & The Machine concert in Edinburgh with my daughter. We almost didn’t go, but bloody hell am I glad we did. The four-hour train journey to Edinburgh gave us an opportunity to chat. She’d been away for five weeks, there was a lot to talk about. And she couldn’t escape.
I’d been fearful that I’d never have this sort of relationship with her or my son. The gig was a welcome reminder that divorce doesn’t mean the end of those relationships.
The Odyssey: An epic fail
I have a thing for Greek mythology, and I don’t care how cliched that is coming from a Greek-Cypriot! Since childhood I’ve been drawn to the story of Odysseus the warrior King who spends 10 years finding his way home geographically and psychologically. Homer’s Odysseus is cunning, intelligent, funny, arrogant. I couldn’t wait to see Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey in July. Oh dear.
Thank the gods for Madeline Miller. The Song of Achilles is a book I’ve recommended more than any.
Quote of the week:
Success is the product of daily habits
James Clear, Atomic Habits
Motivation may get you started, but consistency & routines keep you going
All-nighters have become all-dayers
My generation started rave culture and, it seems, never really stopped.
We’re still going – we’ve just shifted to all-dayers. Instead of 11pm–4am, we’ve now opted for the rather more civilised 4pm–11pm.
Solara hosts the UK’s fastest-growing club night for the over-40s, and at the main event in London Bridge, your photo ID is to prove you’re not someone younger trying to sneak in. Are they scared the ‘youngsters’ would be traumatised by the sight of the over-40s on a dance floor, or vice-versa?
It’s a day of top house music, and a dancefloor like any other. But the conversations have changed somewhat. Not so much ‘Where you from and what you on?’, rather ‘Where you sat, when’s your Uber?”
Photis Kassianides is the founder of Emotional Equity