Leaders, you are harming the mental health of employees!

Stained job! It’s a section where Oliver Schmocker answers your toughest questions [et les plus pertinentes] In the modern business world…and of course its quirks. A reading date Tuesday and the Thursday. Would you like to participate? Send us your question at [email protected]

s. – “My boss means well, sure, but by prioritizing ‘harmony’ and ‘well-being’ for all, she forgets to acknowledge the performance and efforts of those who, like me, 110% every day. It makes me want to drop everything. It terrifies me so much that I become irritable.” In the office and I lose sleep because of it … “ – Danny

A: Dear Danny, you would like to be recognized for your fair value at work, but your boss seems to prefer a collective salutation rather than an individual one. And you suffer it in silence, showing—I don’t want to worry you, just informing you—the symptoms that appear when people are aware of exhaustion (Burnt, in English).

Incidentally, you have just put your finger on a problem that more and more researchers are interested in: the influence of leaders on the mental health of the team members they are responsible for. And it’s a more serious problem as recent discoveries on the subject tend to show that, for the most part, this effect is…negative. Even dramatic. clarification.

Diego Montano is a medical researcher at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He and his team conducted a meta-analysis of 53 recent studies on the impact of leaders on the mental health of employees. The first point that emerges is that we can identify seven styles of leadership that most leaders use today:

– converter. Charismatic, influencing, inspiring, and motivating. It takes into account everyone’s needs.

– the transaction. He knows how to reward for the work done, correct the situation when there is still time and learn from the mistakes made.

– absent. He follows the policy of laissez-faire, is conspicuous by his absence, avoids making decisions and hesitates to take action.

– the individualist. In his eyes, the individual always comes first. So everyone is responsible for the results they show. Everyone must report directly to him, without going through anyone else.

– The destructive. Aggressive, has potentially dangerous behavior towards his subordinates. His orders could go so far as to harm the interests of the organization, if that pleased him.

– Relational. He respects others, acts as an unshakable support. Knows how to resolve conflicts.

– the pragmatic. Knows how to accurately distribute tasks, evaluate each other’s performance and achieve the desired goal.

Danny, I’m sure you’ll find your boss’s leadership style on this list. Perhaps, if necessary, by combining two of them. A priori, I’d go there in an “absent/relational” type style, what do you think?

let’s continue. Diego Montano and his team then evaluated the impact of these different leadership styles on the mental health of employees.

results? All styles have either a “negative” or a “mixed” effect, except for two:

– Unsurprisingly, the “destructive” style has an “excessively negative” effect on the mental health of those who have to put up with it on a daily basis.

The “transformative” approach has a “really positive” effect. This is because these leaders inspire others with their vision of the future, encourage team members to show initiative and know how to adapt their approach to the specific needs of each employee.

Simply put, all of today’s leaders have a negative, or at least mixed, impact on employees’ mental health. Yes, all of them, with the notable exception of those who work as adapters.

Should we despair in the face of such a discovery? To emphasize that this is not surprising, when we know that the main reason cited by employees who quit is almost always “It’s because of my boss…”?

No, because the study by Diego Montano and his team offers hope.

For example, she points out that organizations should make it a priority to reorient their managers’ style toward the “transformational” style. For this, there are a number of training programs and other specialized trainers.

Another example: Organizations can work to eliminate toxic behaviors from their managers. That is, behaviors that correspond to certain styles of leadership, in particular the so-called “destructive” ones: aggressiveness, selfishness, etc.

Note that the study also found that, in general, it was “more effective” to seek to correct the style of current leaders than to offer employees various wellness programs and other mindfulness courses. Because it makes it possible to attack the problem at its root.

good. Go back to your boss, Danny. What do I do when the leader is “absent/relational” when, say, a member of his team is “individual” (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong)? The idea, it seems to me, is to find common ground between the two. Which means it takes you a step towards the “Absentee/Relational” style, for example by thinking more collectively than you normally would. And in relation to her, you should lean towards the “transformative” style, which will allow her to better understand your unsatisfied need for recognition.

In short, take a step towards it, and invite it to do the same, for example by learning about this study by Diego Montano that I heard about. And things may get better in the future, both for you and for her.

By the way, former cycling team captain Cyril Guimard likes to say: “Changing habits is still the best way to change things.”