Remember when that article came out in Forbes about the impact of managers on our mental health? The article cites a Workforce Institute report that revealed that our direct supervisor at work has an equal impact on our mental health as a spouse, and a more significant impact than either our doctors or our therapists.
Take a moment to drink that in. Think about how much vetting goes into selecting a spouse. There is a reason that matchmaking has a rich history around the world, and that most people don’t enter into a long-term romantic commitment lightly. In some cases, a trusted elder has to investigate the candidate’s entire family, income, connections, and upbringing. In other cases, people will live together for decades before deciding to formalize things.
Most of us don’t choose our manager. And yet, so much of our time at work (which for many people, means our time on Earth) is dictated by who our supervisor is and how they approach their role. Leaders who are unable to regulate their own stress or have poor communication skills can have devastating impacts on the wellbeing of their co-workers and on their organization as a whole.
If you’re sitting there wondering “just how big of a problem is this?”, we would encourage you to take a moment to Google toxic boss. We’ll give you a moment to process.
So what are the origins of this problem? Why are so many managers… well, unskilled, at being managers? We spoke to an HR expert in the non-profit world, who shared their assessment:
“Most of the time, people get promoted because they are good at doing the jobs of the person who they will be managing. This doesn’t necessarily translate into skills or experience as a supervisor.”
A surprising number of organizations don’t implement 360 feedback processes or other systems for assessing the efficacy of managers. This means that while managers may be accountable to their boss, they aren’t necessarily accountable to their direct reports. It’s also common for managers to rise in the ranks of an organization without receiving any direct training on how to manage people.
So what’s the solution? We would argue that investing in soft skills training for leaders is essential to promote workplace wellbeing for all employees. In fact, this systemic issue was our main motivation for creating Fundamentals of Coaching, a leadership development program that teaches essential coaching skills to help people feel the joy, alignment, and connection we all need to flourish. We believe that when people thrive, organizations thrive. Equipping more people with coaching skills can reduce harm in the workplace and support everyone’s collective wellbeing.