Members and allies of Accessability@BCG share their tips for increasing disability inclusion in the workplace.
02 December 2024
Posted by Adam Whybrew (He/him) May 3 2023
I am a Partner who founded BCG’s advanced analytics team in Asia Pacific – but this isn’t really about that. Several years ago, one morning in June, I decided that I couldn’t go to work. I had been awake since before 5am and was vomiting from stress for a few hours. This had become the norm. I had been struggling for a while, becoming increasingly fearful of the world, and withdrawn from it, every day. But on that day in June, I called the Partner on my case, explained the situation, then went for a walk in the park with my wife.
I had let work become by far the most important thing in my life, both doing it and thinking about it more and more of the time. I was successful, but I ignored the growing symptoms of a looming problem. It was only at my lowest, when I felt that I couldn’t continue working, that I sought and accepted professional help. I went to a psychologist that was recommended to me by HR who had worked with BCGers before. And what a difference it made. I learned to enjoy my life again, I worked less hard, and I ‘switched off’ each day and at weekends without feeling any guilt. I was able to bounce back and later advance to the highest levels in the organization. I have been stressed since then, but I know what to do about it now.
Most recently, I took the first post-Covid opportunity to speak in-person to our entire Australian workforce of 600 people about mental health awareness in the workplace. Afterwards, many people took the time to seek me out and talk to me individually, from all parts and levels of BCG. Many expressed relief and thanks for the raw, public acknowledgement of an experience which they too had shared. One comment from a new joiner really stuck out to me: “When I saw this, I realized this company was the right place for me.”
Sydney, Australia