Mental health: it’s time

In the last 20 years, mental health has started to lose its stigma and there has certainly been a little more openness in talking about mental well-being and how it affects day-to-day life, including work life. But just how much progress has there actually been and what role do leaders play in promoting mental wellness?

Well, over the same two decades in Germany, an increasing number of workers were using mental health rehabilitation services. In fact, the figure has almost doubled in the last 20 years.

In 2002, close to 10% of work-approved rehabilitations in Germany were due to mental illness. By 2022, this number had climbed to nearly 19%, according to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung.

A big problem, but a small voice

Around 20% of men and women in Germany had been so affected by stress that they had to resign from their job. Given those figures, it is depressing that in the same Statistica figures, only around 35% of people in Germany claimed that they felt they could talk openly about their mental health with both their colleagues and management in their place of work.

There is still a large divide between those who feel comfortable talking about their mental health and those who do not.

For leaders in the current situation, there is a heavy degree of responsibility, both with regard to their direct influence as well as how they contribute to a corporate culture that is truly sensitive to mental wellbeing.

A leader’s influence

New research data suggests that a leader’s influence on the mental health of their team is very heavy indeed.  For almost 70% of people, according to this Forbes-research, their manager has more impact on their mental health than their therapist or their doctor. And to emphasize that even more,  it’s equal to the impact of their partner.

Leaders will certainly find this data sobering. It’s an unanswerable argument that leaders need to understand deeply the nature of the shadow they cast, and to ensure they’re doing all they can to be their best and continue to have their most positive impacts on the people they lead.

Following Covid, we do at least have a better appreciation of the intersection of the individual and the employee. And of everyone’s potential vulnerabilities. It is an understanding we must build on.

Leaders can be a positive influence by understanding some basic principles.

First of all, look after yourself before you care for others, otherwise you will simply be another one of their problems.

Too many leaders try to shield team members from stress or challenge by taking on the toughest or most time-consuming work themselves. It’s not a good idea, and it’s a bad example to others. Others will watch how you manage your own workload and then model your choices. It’s better for everyone if  you rather train and mentor others, and delegate by empowering others to take and spread responsibility.

“All people are influenced by their environment, but leaders play a particularly large role.  They have to regard mental health as equal to any aspect of physical health”, says Maximilian Contzen, principal at Odgers Berndtson Germany.

As they say, ‘Mental health is physical health, and physical health is mental health.’

Thirdly, many leaders are not conscious of their own impact on others’ wellbeing. Be aware of the shadow you cast on others and their lives. People are influenced by everyone around them, but leaders have an impact that is so much greater than they can imagine. Ask yourself, ‘how would I feel about the action I just took, or the words I just used?’.

Empathy is the key quality here. And it can be as simple as asking people how they’re doing, and whether they need support when working on an extra tough, challenging problem.

A greater good

A final point is that people who feel a connection to a clear purpose and are encouraged to see a bigger picture usually feel better about work, and potentially themselves, too. This is particularly true in a world of hybrid working where there is so much less human in-person contact and no real sense of community.

According to Jane Cathrall, Executive Director of People and Culture at the Bank of England as quoted by the CIPD, “That sense of community has to stem from a sense of shared purpose, and that means really focusing on why we exist as an organization. It’s that sense of shared purpose, together with those personal connections, which are really key. The role of a leader, even more now, is about creating the environment where people can thrive and make that connection with the organization.”

A coming obligation

Finally, it is worth mentioning something else that will put a further focus on leaders and how their organizations care for their employees. Under the provisions of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, large EU companies with over 250 employees, will have to provide detailed information in their annual reports on their workers and those in their supply chain. 

The reporting standards will include requirements on employers to provide information on the diversity and makeup of the workforce (including contingent workers) employee voice and relations, work-life balance, investment in training and development and health and safety matters.

Leading with empathy

Do you have the leaders that can create an organization that can support employee well-being and mental health? And what are the leadership qualities you should be looking for?

Our LeaderFit profile model can help provide just such a picture of those who might have the potential to succeed. By using a unique leadership assessment methodology that combines personality data, behavioural patterns and leadership experts’ judgement, we can paint a picture of individual performance in targeted senior roles.

Our track record in assessing and developing leaders spans publicly traded companies, privately funded companies, and government/not-for-profit organizations.

To discuss your current talent plans, or your individual career trajectory and ambitions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’ll be keen to hear from you.