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Recently released research from Deloitte Insights paints a nasty if not a grim picture of well-being.
Specifically, leaders are somewhat oblivious to not only the low levels of well-being happening with their team members but also seem to be ignoring their own personal plight. Throw in a dose of correspondence bias, and you have yourself a workplace wellness disaster on the rise.
I've worked with leaders and senior leaders for over 20 years. I have never felt such angst as I do these days throughout my tenure of supporting leaders. Wherever I turn, I see palpable levels of distress, the likes of which I have never seen. The research from Deloitte points out my concerns clearly.
Take, for instance, the C-Suite. According to the research, members of this vital group have alarming levels of mental duress and fatigue. Forty-one percent are stressed, 40% are overwhelmed, 36% are exhausted, 30% are lonely and 26% are depressed. What's even more distressing? Employees are 5% less overwhelmed, 6% less lonely and 3% less depressed.
Put differently; it would seem good portions of the C-Suite are experiencing far less well-being than the employees they are attempting to lead. That is not good news. What happens next?
A stressed, overwhelmed and exhausted senior leader becomes hamstrung not only in making essential strategic and financial decisions but also in having less in the proverbial leadership tank to support employees. This can cause all sorts of issues.
First, there is the issue of the overall health of the senior leader. No one deserves to live an unhealthy life because of their job, regardless of their title. Anyone who is some combination of mentally, socially or physically unwell due to their role is not being adequately supported at work and in life itself. That's a huge issue to solve.
Second, a leader absent from employees due to their unwellness exacerbates the issues of well-being at work. How are they ever to be in a situation to model good well-being—let alone advocate and implement well-being for employees—when they themselves are suffering? It's modelling well-being that we need most from leaders, too.
Arianna Huffington, the founder of Thrive Global, cemented home the point during a recent Forbes interview that I had with her. Huffington pointed out the following: "We believe that when leaders take care of themselves, they are much more able to take care of their employees to be empathetic, creative, inspiring. But when they're depleted, running on empty and burnt out, it's much harder to lead from what is best in them. Role modelling is key because we are changing an entire culture that used to believe that burnout is simply the price you pay for success."
The magnitude of what we might call the fundamental attribution error of a senior leader's well-being understanding is alarming. According to Deloitte, more than eight out of 10 global executives believe their people are thriving in all aspects of their well-being.
Yet, employees rank their well-being significantly lower. The gap is spectacularly bothersome. And by gap, we're referring to the distance between Toledo and San Diego. The misalignment can be found in four key categories of well-being: physical, mental, social and financial. For example, see the Deloitte chart below:
Deloitte Insights
If that's not enough, leaders' fundamental attribution error mindset is also apparent regarding how they handled employee well-being during the pandemic. For example, the researchers noted the following:
"Only 47% of workers believe their executives understand how difficult the pandemic has been for them, yet 90% of the C-suite say they do recognize how challenging it's been. Similarly, while only 53% of employees feel that their company's executives have been making the best decisions for their well-being during the pandemic, 88% of the C-suite believe their decision-making has been exemplary."
What are we left to contemplate?
Senior leaders are not only suffering at work but also think they're doing a fantastic job on the well-being file with their employees—assuming they have been doing so since the onset of the pandemic.
I believe we are entering the danger zone of organizational culture and employee experience. If the economists are worried about inflation and stagflation, I'm rather frightened by the state of well-being.
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Check out my award-winning 4th book, “Lead. Care. Win. How to Become a Leader Who Matters.” Thinkers50 #1 rated thinker, Amy. C. Edmondson of Harvard Business School, calls it “an invaluable roadmap.”
