Leaders who do not attend to mental health “sick” collaborators

When a collaborator or an entire team shows stress, fatigue, listlessness or lack of commitment to the company, it may just be a reflection of another problem: the health status of the leaders, who, in the dedication to their work and the demands to which they are subjected, can suffer affectations and inadvertently infect people.

According to data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), in Mexico work stress affects more than 70% of workers for various reasons, but largely due to the demands or treatment they receive from their leaders, who, in turn, are suffering from critical situations that they do not realize and therefore do not treat.

Stress, indicates the IMSS, can be acquired by contagion, since being close to people who suffer from it or witnessing situations that increase tension, people suffer an increase in their levels of cortisol, which triggers a vicious circle that is difficult to break. In this way, if the leader does not have well-being, he transmits it to the people around him and them to each other, which damages relationships between everyone, even on a personal and family level.

In this sense, Abel Navajas, Manager of Affor Health, a company specialized in managing and improve psychosocial health of people in organizations, indicates that if what companies are looking for is to prevent stressful situations as well as other psychosocial risks, it is not necessary to focus only on collaborators, but go further back, with the leader because “the health of the team is in big measure reflection of mental health of the leader”.

He explained that some leaders enter this state because they are under great pressure or must be accountable to higher-ups, so in one day, for example, they may experience various emotions that are inherently transmitted to others.

Health care

Last September, the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization called for work to prevent stressful work environments, incorporating for the first time recommendations with a particular focus on the training of managers where they prevent toxic work environments and support employees who suffer from it.

In said call, employers are asked to base themselves on a solid risk assessment and management process, carried out with the participation of workers and their representatives, who must be informed and taken about the new protection measures dictated by the company.

“Circumstances that may cause risks, such as restructuring or changes in personnel, processes, work methods or other substantive issues at work, must be managed in a way that prevents or minimizes psychosocial risks,” the document indicates. .

The formation

Regarding the recommended work guidelines for managers, the WHO and the ILO list the following:

• Learn to recognize and respond appropriately to those experiencing emotional distress.
• Employ interpersonal management skills such as open communication and active listening.
• Promote an inclusive and supportive work culture.
• Advocate for action on mental health at work from the top down.
• Ensure that workers can access the support of their representatives, as the case may be.

On a personal level, according to Development Dimensions International, it is important that leaders learn to manage their emotions, starting with knowing them, understanding them and looking for the best ways to deal with them, since knowing how they are will determine the ability to make decisions.

Likewise, managing self-control to know how to act, despite the fact that the circumstances in the environment are not favorable, stress and conflicts are not reasons to lose control or exercise bad leadership.

If the leader considers that his health is worse or does not know how to learn to control his emotions, it is best to seek psychological care that allows him to heal soon.