Mental Health Challenges: How Managers Can Best Help Employees

More than two-thirds of employees (69%) say their managers influence their mental health, a figure that surpasses the impact of doctors (51%) and therapists (41%) and is on par with the influence of spouses or partners (69%), according to a 2023 global study by the UKG Workforce Institute.  

Given their strong impact on employee mental health, managers play a key role in retention. In fact, among workers who said their job has negatively impacted their mental health, 51% are actively job seeking, versus only 19% of those who said their job has had a positive mental health impact, according to the SHRM Global Worker Project.  

To make the most of managers’ impact on employee mental health — and to support retention — organizations should emphasize specific managerial best practices for mental health.  

Mental Health at Work

Despite wider knowledge and understanding of the importance of mental health, it often remains an underdiscussed topic in the workplace. Even in company cultures where employees are encouraged to speak up about their needs, some employees may find themselves reluctant to divulge their mental health struggles. In fact, only about 2 in 5 employee respondents say they feel comfortable discussing their mental health in the workplace, according to SHRM’s 2024 mental health survey.

Organizations can build mental health awareness and support into their cultures through total rewards and open communication, but that may not always be enough. Since employees may be reluctant to disclose their mental health needs, managers should adopt practices that support well-being universally.

Leaders who want to support employee mental health while strengthening their leadership capabilities, and thus the bottom line, should focus on three areas: role clarity, feedback, and empathy.  

1. Role Clarity: Shed Light on Responsibilities

Role clarity refers to “how well employees understand the specific responsibilities, tasks, expectations, goals, and performance metrics attached to their position,” according to a 2023 SHRM report, Effective People Managers: The Linchpin of Organizational Success. This research also shows role clarity has a large impact on employees’ ability to do their jobs well.  

Actionable Tips:

• Set clear expectations with measurable goals based on the job description.
• Schedule alignment meetings to ensure employees understand what is expected of them.
• Encourage open communication to help employees feel comfortable sharing any roadblocks in understanding expectations.

Role clarity may start with the job description shared during the hiring process, but it’s up to managers to continue the through line with proper employee performance management. Once expectations are clear, feedback becomes essential for reinforcement and growth.

2. Feedback: Deliver Effective Guidance

Enhancing role clarity cannot happen without effective feedback. In addition to impacting productivity, feedback can influence an employee’s self-efficacy. This is crucial, as self-efficacy can mitigate the negative effects of stress, thus protecting mental health.

Actionable Tips: 

• Ensure check-ins with employees offer assessments with specificity, objectivity, and an emphasis on strength, as well as areas of improvement.
• Balance the need to provide support for challenges with the need to hold employees accountable.
• Consider how data-driven performance management can supplement traditional methods. 

Ineffective feedback can erode an employee’s confidence, leaving them more vulnerable to stress and burnout.

3. Empathy: Model the Behavior

In addition to delivering effective feedback, managers need to practice modeling empathy in the workplace. Within an organization, empathy can produce positive outcomes across “workplace culture, employee satisfaction, teamwork, leadership effectiveness, and overall productivity,” according to a white paper authored by Alfreda Goods, DM, Scott McCalla, DM, and Lisa K. Langford, DM. These effects don’t exist in a vacuum, however. Managers lead in bringing empathy to an organization’s culture. “If it’s important at the company level, it needs to be important to every leader,” said Julia Anas, chief people officer at Qualtrics.

 When managers can look below the surface and see things from an employee’s perspective, communication, trust, and collaboration can thrive.  

Actionable Tips:

• Practice self-awareness and deliberate acts. Champion inclusion and practice agility to show employees you really care.
• Ask deeper questions. For example, instead of asking, “How are you?” ask, “How is your day going?” and “Is there anything I can do to help with your workload?”
• Read between the lines to see where work stressors such as tight deadlines or tough projects are straining employees before finding ways to alleviate some of the pressure.

Empathy in the workplace is a practice, with managers leading the way for improvement.

SHRM Members-Only Content: 5 Ways to Be an Empathetic Leader

Leadership That Retains Talent

Mental health may feel like a personal issue, but in the workplace, it’s also a leadership issue. With many employees seeking new opportunities because of the negative mental health effects from their work, managers are on the frontlines of retention. Managers who lead with clarity, empathy, and feedback don’t just support their teams — they shape cultures that people want to be part of.