Traders Seek Help
In a recent news report that appeared in The Sun, City Beacon comment upon a 20% increase in city traders who have requested counselling services this year. Managing director Richard Kingdon said many were turning to drugs and alcohol as an “anaesthetic”. He told The Sun: “It’s allowing them to bury their heads deeper and deeper into the sand.”
He claimed bankers felt hated by the public and were being put under increasing pressure by their own bosses. He said: “Banks and financial institutions are using lower profit forecasts to cut staff bonuses, salaries and jobs.
“Denial is the name of the game in the City. No one — and no company — wants to admit there’s a serious addiction problem.”
Workaholism is on the rise, but there’s a ‘cure’
City workers who have suffered stress, anxiety and mental health problems due to the strains of the recession will recover with a better work/life balance, according to City Beacon, the only dedicated addiction counselling service for finance industry workers based in the Square Mile.
In addition, evidence is already growing to support the theory that workers are less fearful of the future and are recording higher levels of job satisfaction than before the recession hit.
Richard Kingdon, director of City Beacon, which treats white collar addicts, says that the service has seen a rise in the number of people facing addiction problems. They are not only suffering from dependence on drugs and alcohol but also from addiction to their jobs.
My name is Anan and I’m a workaholic
It takes over lives, leaving people stressed and burnt out. It destroys marriages, families and waistlines. This is the new ‘respectable’ addiction – workaholism, which now has its own Workaholics Anonymous meetings and a 12-step recovery plan. Nick Harding investigates
City Beacon featured in The Times
Sex, drugs, drink and the City slicker
In the Square Mile, temptation is never far away. But Richard Kingdon is helping financiers to tackle their addictions
It’s ego. It’s fine wine, champagne, cocaine. It’s all about alpha males and excess up here,” Richard Kingdon says. “Third week of January is a killer. It’s a classic: on New Year’s Eve they say: ‘Right, this is my last binge. Next year I’m going to sort myself out, sort out my debts, maybe try for a family.’ Then third week in January, when they get paid, they’re off again because the resolve has gone and because they ain’t got no tools.”
