HR Answers: Why leaders need to model good mental health practices

A great leader I know once told me—and my own experience has borne out—that your people may not always do what you ask them to do, but they will almost always do what you do. A leader’s behavior sets the tone for the entire organization. According to an HBR article on culture, “When aligned with strategy and leadership, a strong culture drives positive organizational outcomes.” However, many leaders let it go unmanaged—a mistake, because properly managed, “culture can help them achieve change and build organizations that will thrive in even the most trying times.”

We were living in trying times even before the pandemic arrived. According to McKinsey, for the past several years, change has been occurring at 10 times the pace of the Industrial Revolution and 300 times the scale. Yet, most of us have not been trained to cope with the amount of change around us, leaving many people feeling overwhelmed, threatened or stressed. In 2019, the World Health Organization labelled burnout a syndrome defined as “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” That same year, an estimated 1 million workers were absent every day due to stress, and research found that workplace culture was the biggest roadblock employees face in their efforts to feel healthier and happier.

Then 2020 arrived. We haven’t yet fully measured the impact of the events of 2020 (and beyond) on workplace performance, but we know that mental health issues continue to rise. The very people we are relying upon to lift us out of this economic and public health crisis are suffering in great numbers, and many companies are at a loss as to how to respond. Clients are telling us that their people are struggling with lack of motivation, decreased productivity and a drain on resilience, with even top performers becoming disengaged, and there has been a drop in in revenue generation.

 

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