Discussions about mental health in the workplace is something that has only begun in earnest over the past decade, but it was placed squarely at the forefront of the national dialogue with the disruption and stress of COVID-19.
Several professions have been taking the lead on mental health debate since the onset of the pandemic,
most obviously in health care. However, other careers have been examining the relationship between the workplace changes and stress, including
attorneys,
pilots and
academics.
However, there is little long-term research or discussion regarding the systemic mental health issues in accounting despite the consistent discussions on Reddit and other industry discussion sites about the high-stress environment.
The Financial Executive Podcast recently spoke with Mark Cowan, professor of Accounting at Boise State University, who spoke frankly about his struggles with mental health while still a practicing CPA and how the profession should change.
Some of his thoughts include:
On one therapist’s suggestion:
The suggestion to “stop thinking like a tax accountant” perfectly and concisely captured the trap I had fallen into, and that I'm afraid that a lot of CPAs and other financial professionals will fall into. Thinking like a tax accountant is great when you're actually doing taxes, but that tax mindset's really not good when you're trying to deal with mental health issues.
On a “generational shift” in the discussion about mental health in the accounting profession:
I'm a Gen Xer and I never would've brought up these issues back when I was in public accounting many years ago. I don't think anybody would have, because there was a stigma to it. But what I think that what CPA firms and corporations need to understand is that the folks they'll be hiring in the next few years, from millennials and the Gen Z generation, are used to talking about mental health issues more and they're more comfortable talking about it openly.
Listen to the full discussion