The Crucial Role of Managers in Employee Wellbeing

by | Jun 24, 2024 | HR Blog

This blog is written by Sarah Taylor, Workplace Wellbeing Consultant & Trainer and Founder & Director of ThriveWise.
Did you know that for almost 70% of people, their manager has more impact on their mental health than their therapist or doctor, equalling the impact of their partner? If you’re a manager, this statistic might make you wonder whether your organisation supports you adequately for this crucial role. Unfortunately, the CIPD found that there’s a stubborn gap between the responsibility placed on managers to support employee wellbeing and the investment in their capability to meet these expectations.

The Problem: Managerial Stress and Its Impact
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report reveals that managers are feeling the pressure more than ever. They experience higher levels of stress, anger, sadness and loneliness compared to non-managers. This stress can lead to burnout, negatively impacting not only the managers themselves but also their teams.

However, there’s a silver lining – when managers thrive, their teams thrive too. Here are three strategies to support managers and foster a culture of wellbeing:

  1. Prevent Manager Overwhelm and Burnout
    In my work with management teams, we start by focusing on their own self-awareness of how they manage their energy and wellbeing. Many managers are caring, dedicated leaders who want to give their best but are pulled in multiple directions and can neglect their own self-care and wellbeing needs.

    It begins with recognising that self-care isn’t selfish. Managers need to put their own oxygen masks on first. This involves reflecting on what drains their energy and what re-energises them and learning to spot early signs of burnout. When managers role model and openly share their wellbeing practices and challenges, it normalises the conversation and can inspire employees to prioritise their own wellbeing.

  2. Help Managers Take A Coaching Approach to Supporting Employee Wellbeing
    Managers play a dual role: navigating their own challenges while providing emotional support to their teams. They often feel they need to solve their team’s problems directly, but this can lead to burnout and doesn’t empower employees. Adopting a coaching approach can be more effective. This involves asking questions that help employees find their own solutions. Coaching conversations should be regular and not just occur when someone is already struggling. This approach empowers employees and reduces the emotional burden on managers. Equipping managers with the training and tools to confidently adopt a coaching approach to wellbeing conversations should be a crucial part of an organisational wellbeing strategy.
  3. Make It Less Lonely At The Top
    Many of my coaching clients have told me they often feel lonely or isolated as a manager. This can be due to becoming increasingly distant from friends and former colleagues or it can be due to feeling alone in making weighty decisions. Another factor is managers feeling the need to project a perception of the ‘heroic leader’ – strong and confident – even when inside they are struggling or feeling unsure. This can create a barrier that makes it challenging to build authentic relationships.

One way to tackle this is to create peer learning spaces for managers, where they can come together to address real-life challenges and support each other’s development. These sessions, whether informal or structured like Action Learning Sets, can help managers feel less isolated and realise that others share similar challenges. Having facilitated many such sessions, the most common feedback I hear from participants is that they feel less alone in their experiences and challenges.

Conclusion: Turning a Vicious Circle into a Virtuous Circle
Healthy, engaged leaders foster positive, productive teams, while stressed leaders contribute to higher turnover and lower engagement. By recognising that managers are only human and need support just like everyone else, we can improve their wellbeing and create a more supportive culture for their teams. This has a positive ripple effect throughout the organisation. Research shows that when leaders prioritise their health, it motivates 82% of employees to improve their own wellbeing.
Supporting leaders to lead from a place of wellbeing is not just about enhancing their effectiveness at work; it’s about acknowledging their humanity and the intrinsic value of their health. Investing in the wellbeing of our leaders creates a more human and resilient organisation from the top down.