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Managers, who are so often the first line of defense in addressing employee wellness and workplace stress, frequently lack the necessary training and support to deal with these complex issues effectively. Moreover, managers are not immune to the same pressures that weigh on their teams: heavy workloads, demanding roles and long work hours.
Below, 20 Forbes Coaches Council members discuss the urgent need for companies to reevaluate their approach to ensuring employee well-being and focus on providing sufficient support to managerial staff. Read on for insights on how informed leadership can break this cycle to foster a culture of holistic wellness for all.
1. Hire More Staff If Heavy Workloads Are The Issue
This has to come from company leadership. If heavy workloads are the issue, and evaluation has determined that employees are working productively, then adding staff to the team is necessary to more evenly distribute the work. Leaders don’t love to hear that additional staff is required, but replacing burned-out managers and employees will cost more in the long run. - Jessica Miller-Merrell, Workology
2. Establish A Peer-Led Wellness Council
A company could establish a peer-led wellness council, composed of employees from various levels and departments. This council would address well-being issues, provide support and create initiatives. By empowering employees to drive solutions, the company can foster a sense of ownership and empathy, taking the burden off of managers and promoting a holistic approach to wellness across the board. - Andre Shojaie, HumanLearn
3. Calibrate Staffing Needs With Org Chart Management
A big contributor to burnout is sloppy organizational chart management. Too often, senior leaders change staffing with little insight into how it will impact the day-to-day of the team downstream, which creates employee burnout when staffing isn’t properly calibrated. Savvy leaders consult middle managers to understand needs, challenges and opportunities. Properly staffed teams encounter less burnout. - Randi Braun, Something Major
4. Dedicate A Room To Meditation And Relaxation
Have a room dedicated to meditation and relaxation where the employee can sign up to take five or 10 minutes to restore their well-being. The room could include programmed, guided meditations. The benefits of meditation include feeling calm, restoring focus and clarity and increasing flexibility and creativity. The employee comes back to tasks more productive after taking a timeout. - Melinda Fouts, Ph.D., Success Starts With You
5. Set An Example For Employees To Follow
Model good behavior. Organizational leaders must manage their own well-being and demonstrate that this is normal, accepted behavior. Prioritize exercise, delegate and establish and reinforce boundaries by saying “no” more, encouraging focus time, taking frequent breaks and scheduling and participating in fun. Encourage your team members to follow suit, and individual and organizational well-being will improve. - Jennifer Wilson, ConvergenceCoaching, LLC
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6. Bring In Respected Outside Experts
Bring in the best outside experts whose authority on the subject is respected and accepted. Prepare a long-term, feel-good plan made up of small, doable steps. Get both employees and management involved at the planning stage, and a majority vote should decide where to start the program. Measurable results that are felt across the organization have to be celebrated on all levels. - Judit Ábri von Bartheld, CHN LLC - Coaching Without Borders Hungary (Coaching Határok Nélkül)
7. Establish Metrics To Examine Workloads And Unused PTO
At the highest levels of the business, establish aggregated metrics that examine things such as workload, unused paid time off, overtime and so on. Every level should keep an eye on these indicators to show when the business, or specific departments, are becoming overworked so that actions can be taken. This should be an effort owned by your human resources function. - John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises
8. Utilize Employee Focus Groups
Senior leadership support is key. Assess the issues with an employee survey, and force rank the most egregious issues. Use employee focus groups to drill into the details. Address the issues one at a time with real changes sponsored by senior leaders. Have each project staffed by employees across the business. Senior leaders must model the new and desired behaviors, or initiatives such as this will fall flat. - Nancy Abbott, Nancy S Abbott LLC
9. Decide On And Implement A Culture Change
In situations such as this, organizations need to look at their culture and decide if they really want to change. If the culture isn’t changed, no number of health and wellness talks or initiatives will have any sustainable impact. Overworked, always-on cultures result in overall underperformance, so changing that “grind” mindset from the top is crucial. Set boundaries and embrace flexibility, and mean it. - Anita O’Connor-Roberts, AOC Consulting
10. Consider Implementing Mandatory Downtime Policies
Companies can consider implementing mandatory downtime policies. This approach ensures that all employees, including managers, have protected time to relax and recharge. The downtime experiences should then be shared. By limiting the potential for burnout and promoting a work-life blend, this strategy helps improve overall wellness and equips managers to better support their teams’ well-being. - Thomas Lim, Technicorum Holdings
11. Create A Health Listening Forum
Companies need to look at the root cause of a potentially costly problem such as this one. (It is costly because of increased absenteeism, healthcare costs and sick leave and decreased productivity). A health listening forum can elicit the underlying issues from employees across the board and invite potential solutions. People need to feel listened to so that implemented solutions have a higher success rate of sustainability. - Cellene Hoogenkamp, KokuaHub Inc
12. Educate Management On Signs Of Burnout
Invest in managers and their ability to be influential communicators. Managers need to be educated on the signs and symptoms of burnout. They need to be equipped with tools and skills to have productive conversations with employees to rework priorities, while also influencing senior leaders to set realistic expectations. A company’s success depends on the health and well-being of its people. - Carrie Skowronski, Leadology
13. Foster A Culture Of Self-Care And Resilience
Prioritize an inside-out approach by equipping managers with training and resources to manage their own well-being and learn skills to help build resilience, which will in turn positively influence their teams’ well-being. By fostering a culture of self-care and resilience at the managerial level, the company can create a ripple effect that promotes overall well-being among all employees. - Morgan Massie, Leadership and Training Concierge
14. Create Channels For Employees To Share Feedback
Addressing the well-being of employees and promoting a healthy work environment is crucial for a company’s overall sustainability. I encourage organizations to know what the issues are before trying to solve them. I recommend enabling employee input by creating channels to hear their concerns and feedback so that they can contribute to decision-making processes aimed at improving the workplace. - Dr. Flo Falayi, Korn Ferry
15. Change Work Parameters From The Top Down
Well-being can’t be fixed by just offering resources or employee assistance programs. It’s a massive problem. A 2021 study by the World Health Organization reported that 745,000 people died globally in 2016 because of overwork. And a study by Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business reported that 120,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to poor management. This problem needs a top-down approach where leaders change work parameters by hiring more people, ensuring PTO, training managers and more. - Susan Hobson, Elite High Performance Inc.
16. Set And Respect Boundaries Companywide
Clear boundaries are important and need to be practiced by everyone across the organization. For starters, leaders and managers—even if they are working around the clock and on holidays—should learn how to schedule emails so that they land in employees’ inboxes during office hours. It’s a simple yet impactful way to consistently convey a message to employees that it’s okay to log off and recharge. - Carol Geffner, CB Vision LLC.
17. Reassess Workloads And Set Realistic Expectations
A company can improve a negative, demanding culture by reassessing employee workloads and setting realistic performance expectations. Initiatives such as stress management training, mental health resources and promoting work-life balance through flexible schedules or paid time off can be beneficial. This helps create a work environment that prioritizes employee well-being and health. - Angela Sedran, The Business Growth Accelerator
18. Create A Psychologically Safe Environment
Companies that focus on creating a psychologically safe environment see marked changes in the well-being of their employees. Employees feel comfortable being themselves, included and accepted for who they are, eliminating the need to “mask.” They can make mistakes, learn and grow. Their knowledge is embraced, and ideas are heard. And they can challenge the status quo and help be part of the solution. - Kristy Busija, Next Conversation Coaching, LLC
19. Set Clear Expectations And Check In On Mental Health
Set clear expectations with your employees, addressing specifics such as how much PTO they should take, what time they should stop sending emails and so forth. Be explicit with these expectations, and then model these expectations yourself. Have a mental health check-in with your employees during your one-on-ones. Encourage them to say “no” to projects or to realign on deadline dates if their workload is too heavy. - Aaron Levy, Raise The Bar
20. Help Employees Improve Their Lives Outside Of Work
In my organization, we believe that if you want to crush life—not just business, but also marriage, parenting, wellness, networking and mindset—it takes dedication to shared core values and accountability in the workplace. By helping your team improve their lives outside of the office, you unlock the law of reciprocity. Help your employees to achieve their goals, and they will help you in perpetuity. - Ryan Stewman, Break Free Academy
