‘We don’t want to work for jerks’: A bad boss takes a heavy a toll on your mental health. (It’s the equivalent of being in a bad marriage.)
When managers are more open about their own mental-health journey, experts say it can help create a more inclusive and supportive environment
With the looming threat of recession, some workers are bidding adieu to quiet quitting, and focusing on making their job a happier and healthier place. Getty Images
Ian Adair is no stranger to bad bosses.
“Have I ever had a bad boss? I think we all have. Of course I had. At the time, I knew the place wasn’t right for me because of how I felt after I went home. It’s when you have gone home and run the day through your head. That’s when you realize that something is wrong. Why do I not feel good about a day’s work? If you’re going home sad or angry, what do you need to do to change your situation? Sometimes, you do have to actually remove yourself.”
Adair, 48, a public speaker and author of “Stronger than Stigma,” a book about how to help others who are going through mental-health issues, says the workplace has come a long way. We have come through The Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting. And now? In 2023, with the looming threat of recession and layoffs in the tech sector, some workers are bidding adieu to quiet quitting, and focusing on making their job a happier and healthier place.
The balance of power between manager and employee has shifted once again. Companies are requesting their employees to go back to the office at least three or four days a week, including Google’s parent company Alphabet GOOG, +0.84%, Apple AAPL, -0.58%, Disney DIS, -0.69%, Meta META, -1.22%, and Snap SNAP, -7.65%. Meanwhile, Google, Microsoft, Coinbase COIN, -6.11%, Amazon AMZN, -0.47%, Meta, Cisco CSCO, -3.04% and Snap SNAP, -7.65% and a rake of other tech companies have announced layoffs.
So where does that leave employees? “You hear all the time about the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting,” Adair said. “It’s not that we don’t believe in our company’s mission, we don’t want to work for jerks. As the old saying goes, people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. I know a lot of people who are leaving jobs, taking pay cuts, and putting more emphasis on themselves, and their own well-being, rather than chasing a bigger paycheck.”
“We all have varying degrees of mental health,” he told MarketWatch. “The definition of leadership is changing. It’s more about taking care of the people doing the work, and not just the work itself. Normalizing conversations about mental health is the best way to minimize stigma in the workplace. The goal for leaders and managers should be to promote the acceptance and inclusion of those dealing with mental health-related issues.”
The impact of managers is up there with that of spouses
Indeed, the quality of leadership has an impact on people’s mental health, according to a study released Tuesday by the Workforce Institute at UKG, which provides research and education on workplace issues. The same percentage of workers said their manager and spouse/partner impacted their mental health (69%). That was an even higher percentage than those who said doctors (51%) and therapists (41%) impacted their mental health.
The researchers interviewed 2,200 employees from 10 countries, in addition to 600 C-suite leaders and 600 HR executives in the U.S. “We talk a lot about mental health in terms of a medical diagnosis or burnout. While those are serious issues, the day-to-day stressors we live with — especially those caused by work — is what we should talk more about as leaders,” said Pat Wadors, chief people officer at UKG, a multinational technology company.
When managers are more open about their own mental-health journey, it can help create a more inclusive and supportive environment. “Life isn’t all milk and honey, and when leaders open up about their own struggles, they acknowledge they are not alone, and that it’s OK not to be OK,” Wadors added. “Authentic, vulnerable leadership is the key to creating belonging at work and, in turn, the key to solving the mental-health crisis in the workplace.”
At the end of the workday, 43% of workers said they were “often” or “always” exhausted, and 78% said that stress negatively impacts their work performance. Employees also say work negatively impacts their domestic life (71%), wellbeing (64%) and relationships (62%). Of those reporting “poor” or “very poor” mental health, one-quarter say they don’t have a good work-life balance, compared to 4% of people who say they have “good” or “excellent” mental health.
This article, written by Quentin Fottrell, appeared first on MarketWatch.
