Trying to improve the wellbeing of people in your organisation? Make sure you include management leadership style and workload in your wellbeing strategy.
A senior leader in a global organisation recently told me during a coaching conversation that her pace of work is so frantic that she is barely keeping her head above water, let alone making time for reflection and self-care. On top of a heavy workload, she deals with a high level of uncertainty and unpredictability, due to internal and external changes, compounded by a volatile political and economic environment. This scenario will be familiar to many leaders and managers across all sectors, and indeed, to employees at all levels. Such an intense pace of work negatively affects individuals, teams and organisations.
A high workload and poor management style are the main factors influencing employees’ wellbeing. The link between management/leadership style and the wellbeing of employees is clear. For example, a recent study found that transformational leadership has the highest overall impact on employees’ positive mental health, whereas destructive leadership has the opposite effect, significantly influencing negative mental health. Transformational leaders seek to inspire and engage with their team, whereas the destructive leadership style is associated with behaviours displayed by toxic leadership. This can be characterised by bullying, coercion and manipulation.
It is important to recognise the role environmental factors can play in shaping leaders’ behaviours and approaches. Undue pressure may push leaders into survival mode, reducing their ability to lead with intention and self-regulation. In fact, evidence shows that leaders who receive support for stress and wellbeing are more likely to relieve employees’ stress and positively influence wellbeing. On the other hand, if they feel unable to cope, they can become ‘absent’, by effectively checking out of their leadership duties and activities. Absentee leadership is one of the most common types of destructive leadership styles, leaving teams with insufficient support, direction, engagement and lack of psychological safety. In my coaching practice, this seems to be a common phenomenon over the past year, as organisations navigate a turbulent and uncertain environment. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a silver lining attached to this scenario. Leaders end up feeling exhausted and teams feel neglected and stressed.
Despite the evidence, not all organisations factor leadership style (and other systemic issues, such as heavy workloads) into their wellbeing strategies. According to CIPD data, organisations tend to prioritise mental health and stress management. Undoubtedly, these are important issues but, in some instances, it can be a case of ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’.
A strategic approach would allow organisations to address some of the fundamental factors influencing employees’ wellbeing whilst widening the scope of leadership and management development. It would also consider the employee lifecycle, providing a more personalised offer in recognition of the fact that stress and workload concerns impact people differently. Working parents, carers, people living with long-term conditions, women and men in various life stages will have specific wellbeing needs which, if met, will allow them to flourish in the workplace. Organisations will benefit from having better leaders, better managers, and better teams.
