Wall Street Is Not a Death Trap

After the suicides of eight people in the global financial sector over six months, investment banks have come under pressure to pay more attention to the mental health of their employees. The high-stress, competitive environment -- with its unpredictably punishing workweeks -- are seen as creating the conditions for pushing some people over the edge.

The top firms now encourage junior bankers to take some weekend days off each month. Such changes are welcome, even if they were motivated by competition from hedge funds and private equity firms for talent rather than a response to the deaths. But let's put the problem in perspective. In answer to the question raised in a recent Fortune magazine article, no, there isn't a suicide contagion on Wall Street. Rather, the handful of suicides, tragic as each one is, involved the segment of the population most at risk: white men, particularly over 50.