Here are the key quotes:
"The “mindfulness” panel with Hawn, star of the 1975 hit film “Shampoo,” is among 25 sessions at the 2014 World Economic Forum discussing wellness, mental health, and the potentially pernicious effects of technology on the brain. That’s at least 50 percent more wellness-related presentations than in 2008.
The theme shows how anxiety over stress and its impact on business is mounting among the Davos set, who’ve spent the last five years dealing with crises from the collapse of Lehman Brothers to the Syrian civil war -- all connected 24/7 to their beeping, buzzing smartphones. Mental health-related illnesses may cost $16 trillion in lost output over the next 20 years, according to figures from Harvard University and the WEF.
“People are becoming aware of the huge economic impact” of illness, said Norbert Hueltenschmidt, a partner at consultancy Bain & Co. who is involved in seven Davos sessions on physical and mental health. “Healthy living is at the top of this year’s agenda and you see it throughout the program -- there’s never been a year like this one.”
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For businesses, “there is accumulating evidence about how one’s psychological well-being effects one’s productivity,” said Laura Tyson, a Davos participant who headed the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration.
In the last two years Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY) and Barclays Plc (BARC) have seen executives take extended leave or resign due to stress and exhaustion. And Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG, and Bank of America Corp. are among firms that have limited working hours for junior staffers in an effort to retain talent and cut stress. A Bank of America intern in London, Moritz Erhardt, died of an epileptic seizure in August after working day and night in the weeks beforehand, prompting the New York-based firm to review its practices."
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