What workplace leaders can do for mental health

Leaders can impact mental health at work, through what they do and what they don’t.

Terming poor mental health a national epidemic may sound alarmist, but, according to a 2022 Deloitte study, this costs the nation $14 billion annually. One study shows that 93% of the mental health issues among corporate employees were related to workplace stress. Mental health at work is, thus, a matter of concern. Positive mental health is the ability and possibility to thrive, flourish, take charge, cope with negative events, and be in control of feelings, thoughts, and actions. Negative mental health is characterised by anxiety, predominance of anger, sadness, fear, unproductive stress, frustration and depression. It has been linked to poor performance, evidenced in increased mistakes, greater incivility at work and lower professional satisfaction.

Leaders must normalise conversations on poor mental health, add seeking mental health interventions to benefits and health packages, and encourage people to take breaks to tend to emotional needs. (Pixabay)

Leaders can impact mental health at work, through what they do and what they don’t. Research shows that destructive leadership, which includes aggression, abuse, and direct or indirect support to actions that go against organisational interests, is linked to poor mental health among subordinates. Research also shows that mental health is positively impacted by leader behaviour. Leaders, by assigning tasks fairly and in a clear manner, giving timely and helpful feedback, helping set appropriate goals, and providing resources to help meet those goals, can contribute to improving the mental health of the individuals working with them. Helping subordinates understand the purpose of the work being done and linking the work to a larger purpose helps foster subjective well-being. To illustrate, working on the shop floor of a drug manufacturing company, a daily wage worker could think of his/her work either as repetitive pressing of a lever or as contributing to the health of millions across the world.

Communication that rings true and is consistent with the actions of the leader fosters trust that is directly linked to the experience of mental health. The leader can also help lessen boredom and a sense of meaninglessness, both precursors to frustration and anxiety, by focusing on ways to add challenge to the work of subordinates.

Leaders can contribute to the mental health of their teams by stressing norms of civility, making it safe to ask difficult questions to each other, reinforcing a culture of sharing and caring, and insisting on levelling with authority as a norm. Paying attention to relationship building and fostering emotional maturity in team members is how leaders can impact the mental health of the latter. Leaders’ emotional intelligence can shape emotion regulation, empathy, and acceptance of the messiness of social relationships among team members. Such teams are better at coping with stress and have lower unplanned absences on account of health-related issues.

At the organisational level, leaders must normalise conversations on poor mental health, add seeking mental health interventions to benefits and health packages, and encourage people to take breaks to tend to emotional needs. Rather than valorising people who came back to work after a bereavement, or other such stoicism, or people who show no response to anything thrown at them, leaders should celebrate people who are emotionally mature and prioritise their own and others’ well-being.

Neharika Vohra is professor at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and also serves as the chairwoman of the Ashank Desai Centre for Leadership and Organisational Development at IIMA. The views expressed are personal