Sarah Mears, Chief Human Resources and Legal Officer

As much as any time in recent memory, our world seems to grow more turbulent by the day. The words “catastrophe” and “emergency”—once reserved to describe the worst crises or natural disasters—have become part of our everyday language and dialogue. And reading news feeds or watching television can be anxiety-inducing exercises leading to sleepless nights and troubled days.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of workplace mental wellness programs to support employees, which is why the theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day, “Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies” rang so true.

I’m very proud that our firm embraces the concept: “If you want to change the world, first change the workplace.” MUFG Investor Services has promoted mental and physical wellness as a pillar of our global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiative for years—through the COVID-19 pandemic up to the challenges of the current days. But experience has shown that while strong mental health resources are vital during emergencies, prioritizing mental wellness every day for our colleagues may be even more important.

Gender and cultural acceptance of mental health programs have increased since the pandemic, but the stigma remains. Women still tend to be more comfortable about reaching out for help than men. I recently asked a few male colleagues who they turned to when they needed to talk or when struggling with all that life throws at us. I was saddened to learn that that most didn’t have anyone and didn’t want to burden their families, keeping in mind the terrifying fact that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50.

There’s a generational aspect at play as well—employees of either gender who are 35 and younger typically are more comfortable talking about mental wellness, while those older than 35 still embrace a “keep a stiff upper lip and get on with it” philosophy. Sadly, the shame about having mental health challenges remains for many people.

With 17 locations around the world, we’ve learned that the availability of mental health service providers varies widely by country, and external programs can be inconsistent in terms of information and materials. In some locations, our colleagues faced year-long waiting lists or help was not available at all. We knew we needed to do more.

To bridge the gap in local care, in August we launched MYNDUP, a comprehensive global mental health support program. It ensures all our colleagues and their families have real-time access to mental health and career development professionals whenever and however they need assistance. MYNDUP’s proactive approach mirrors our own philosophy, as it focuses on helping people with a wide range of personal and professional needs before an emergency or “hitting bottom.”

Our colleagues receive six hours of confidential, one-to-one support—ranging from 30-minute to one-hour sessions booked online—and more help is available if needed. The services focus on forward-looking coaching to help achieve goals, counseling to provide coping strategies for current issues, and therapy to understand how past experiences impact today and what is needed to heal. MYNDUP also offers a 24-hour crisis hotline, podcasts, webinars, an extensive library with booklets and videos, as well as live monthly community conversations.

We have a support network through our colleagues as well by training members of our senior leadership team as mental health coaches. Volunteer people managers and team members also learn how to provide initial support as mental health “first aiders,” and we are expanding that program to ensure we have coverage in all the regions we conduct business. In addition, we’ve launched two mental health focused modules as part of our manager development programs, “Aspire” and “Accelerate” to create base line skills and offer ongoing learning for new and current managers.

Providing access to help in crisis is vital but there is still so much more to do to break the stigma cycle. One of the steps we’ve taken is to distribute a digital column every Friday—“Our Stories”—for colleagues to describe the triumphs and challenges in their lives, and how they’ve dealt with them. I am so proud and humbled by the courage and conviction displayed by our team members who are willing to share these deeply personal stories.

Offering the space to connect and speak openly about mental health wellness has created a culture of belonging and connectivity within our firm, which is a critical part of our business strategy. We believe it’s vital to carry forward the frank discussions we saw during and immediately following the pandemic—it’s one of the reasons why our newly opened offices include open designs, sofas for quiet talks, and informal collaborating areas.

We can’t avoid being touched by world events, family challenges and our own personal health issues, but we certainly can give our colleagues the tools to manage stress and guide them through crises and emergencies. By prioritizing mental wellbeing, we’re ensuring that they have the mental and physical wellness to continue delivering the exceptional service that our clients expect and deserve from our firm. It’s time to eliminate the stigma.

Ringing the Bell:

Earlier this year, I wrote about my own personal challenges: My brother’s cancer diagnosis, the death of my mother, my daughter-in-law’s cancer scare and my goddaughter—now 5 years old—who had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Eleanor received care in the pediatric cancer ward at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, and my daughter, Charlotte, and I had the privilege of being with her over Easter for the first 10 days of her treatment.

At the time, I wrote about how life can hit you when you least expect it, and this was definitely one of those times. I am so grateful for the people I work with at MUFG for being there for me, showing up in every way.

My goddaughter’s story has a wonderful ending: Eleanor has entered the recovery stage of her treatment and we all celebrated last month at the Royal Marsden by “ringing the bell.” She and Charlotte—who consider each other sisters—wore matching dresses for the occasion and celebrated together. It was wonderful to fill the room with laughter and happy tears. I want to leave you with the poem that Charlotte read at the ceremony to the wonderful nursing team, play team, hospital chefs, doctors, friends, and family. I hope that whatever struggles you are dealing with, or will face, you can have your own bell-ringing ceremony too:

Ring this bell, three times well

Its toll to clearly say

Your treatments done, this course has run

And you are on your way