15 Jun 2020
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Mindfulness helps improve well-being, physical and mental health. In our busy world, more and more emphasis is being placed on relieving stress and increasing overall happiness. Employers can make a big contribution to the well-being of their employees by recognising personal circumstances and offering flexibility. The financial services sector may be considered as behind the times in this respect, but the recent consultation from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) could reshape the mould.
The LSE is considering how they can open their market to more people. If financial services companies in the city can be more diverse and flexible, employees can achieve a better quality of life and companies can access a greater pool of talent. Last year, the LSE put out a consultation asking market participants what they think could happen in the future in terms of opening hours. The response was considerable with contributions from 140 companies. The feedback results were released on June 1st and show an interesting shift in focus.
The importance of the LSE maintaining a competitive edge is clear. Reducing liquidity would be a core drawback at any time, but particularly as we position towards Brexit. Most respondents from the consultation didn’t believe that shorter hours would result in an increase in trading volumes, but the general view was that longer trading hours don’t benefit liquidity. This view was strongly upheld by investment managers, bankers and brokers. Most respondents also believed that shorter hours would improve the velocity of trading and liquidity available.
Opinions from the consultation are generally in line with the argument that a reduction in trading hours could lead to improvements in well-being and increase diversity. A shorter day would improve flexibility for employees and would help attract a more varied range of individuals onto the trading floor. Half of respondents identified that shorter trading hours was a key benefit to attract, accommodate and retain individuals whose personal circumstances require more flexible working hours. In addition to market structure and cultural issues, trading remains one of the areas in financial services where staff face significant mental health issues. Burn out in the city isn’t uncommon and the suggested changes would help to reduce the load on mental health.
Lockdown has presented us with the opportunity to assess the changes we can make to our lives in terms of travel, working hours and remote working, allowing us to focus on how we can improve our mental health without a reduction in productivity. Businesses have also become increasingly aware of the importance of the well-being of their employees. Some companies have already made the decision to shut offices down for the remainder of 2020, giving their employees the certainty that they will continue to work from home until 2021.
In the absence of unions in the workplace, the rights of workers aren’t always protected and despite economic expansion in many countries, inflation rates for wages have been historically low in recent years. Employees may feel that conditions in the workplace could be better and remuneration at a fairer level. The aftermath of Brexit may mean that the city will lose many non-British workers and in order to maintain our competitive edge, we will need to open ourselves up to having a more diverse workforce, sourcing additional talent from home shores.
The shift has begun, companies now seem to better understand that employees are more likely to be healthy and productive if their working hours fit in with their personal circumstances. The LSE, established more than 300 years ago and the largest stock exchange in Europe, is helping to drive this change forward. By setting a precedent in the financial world, they are sending out the message that adapting values won’t disrupt business models and will attract a more diverse talent pool. There are thousands of businesses that base themselves on the trading hours of the LSE and the example they set will create a ripple effect across the UK.
The importance of mental health is undeniable, companies are actively looking at how they can change their policies to promote well-being in the workplace, which is a big step towards a happier and healthier workforce.
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This information is for UK Professional Advisers only and should not be given to retail clients.The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amounts originally invested.
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