Exchanges are calling for 24-hour trading. Firms are working with less resources. Markets are increasingly complex. And traders are worried about job loss.
In the 2025 buy-side mental health report from The Buy-side Trading Community (BTC), the amount of participants noting a fear of job loss as the cause of negative mental health rose threefold on last year’s results. In total, 30% of those polled reported this as a factor.
Less respondents cited expectations, management or a lack of work/life balance as triggers for negative mental health at work in this year’s survey. The proportion of those mentioning stress and pressure also declined, but still remains the most impactful factor.
In terms of what employers are doing to support their staff, more reported overall guidance, management training and counselling assistance being offered this year than ever in the survey’s history. However, individual responses from traders suggest that there’s still work to be done in these spaces.
“There needs to be understanding from senior management and HR within firms who may not understand what happens on a trading desk,” one said.
They also noted that the job simply isn’t for everyone: “Trading desks can be/are high pressure environments. Sometimes this is not suitable for all people. There needs to be a degree of self-introspection from the individual as well.”
Another was more blunt, stating, “Managers aren’t trained or rewarded for good management. Profit driven”
Staff mental well-being procedures and internal staff awareness campaigns are still the most popular ways for companies to offer help, but fewer respondents mentioned these initiatives than in previous years.
The majority of traders are still working between the office and home at a 60/40 split, but the proportion now working 100% from the office is up significantly. Now, more than 35% are entirely office-based. Last year, this figure was less than 10%.
A number of respondents highlighted the importance of physical movement in their jobs. “My team supports time off the desk to use the gym, and this has been really positive,” one trader said, while another argued that time for exercise or meditation should be mandatory.
On a positive note, fewer respondents this year stated that they personally knew traders who had left their role due to mental health issues – down from more than half to less than 45%.
©Markets Media Europe 2025
