GREEDY BASTARDS –
March 5, 2021 – There are numerous sources out today that have reported substance abuse problems in the financial services sector have seen a huge decline since the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. According to these reports, from the likes of the Business Insider and other publications, the financial sector has seen itself travel through several phases where different types of drugs were considered popular. In the 70’s it was cocaine and marijuana (which is still considered popular now) and in the 80’s and 90’s it was the likes of GHB, ecstasy and Ritalin.
While we may have passed this era, we’re not out of the woods in terms of addiction within the financial sector, with today’s addiction of choice for finance workers being alcohol. Many who work in Finance struggle to get addiction help and support which can have dire effects not only on their health but also the people around them. There have been numerous studies into this exact issue [addiction] and why it’s so prevalent within the financial sector. An anthropologist, researcher and former investment banker, Alexandria Michel carried out one of the most recent studies, tracking four groups of employees.
Each group was tracked over nine years. While the initial intention of the study was not to highlight substance abuse, the observation of substance abuse unfortunately appeared in nearly all those being followed in the study at some point. Michel found that the biggest factors for substance abuse surrounded the immense amount of stress, the long hours and the huge responsibility of being in charge of other’s finances and their investments. Michel also noted the huge amount of competitiveness and the exaggerated drive to succeed within the individuals seen to turn to substance abuse.
