A Role at the Crossroads of Expectations
Line managers and HR professionals hold a unique position. They convey management’s objectives, listen to employees, and ensure compliance with legal requirements—often all in the same day.They are also the ones who handle sensitive situations: announcing a reorganization, resolving a conflict within the team, supporting an employee in distress, or addressing a harassment issue. Their role is essential to the smooth operation of the company. This is precisely why their own well-being deserves special attention.
What Research on Managers Shows
A more vulnerable middle position. A Columbia University study, published in 2015 in *Sociology of Health & Illness*, analyzed data from 21,859 full-time employees in the United States. Depressive symptoms were reported by 18% of supervisors and managers, compared with 12% of other employees. Managers were also nearly twice as likely to report anxiety. The authors attribute this finding to their position in the middle of the hierarchy, caught between the expectations of upper management and those on the front lines.
This finding requires some qualification in Switzerland. According to the 2022 Job-Stress Index by Health Promotion Switzerland, which surveyed 3,022 working adults, 28.2% of workers are in a critical stress zone and 30.3% are experiencing emotional exhaustion. Non-managerial employees score lower on the index than managers. A managerial role therefore also provides protective resources, such as autonomy. The risk is greatest where demands increase without a corresponding increase in flexibility.
A direct link to the quality of management. A meta-analysis published in *Work & Stress* (Kaluza et al.), covering 88 studies and more than 12,000 participants, shows that managers’ well-being is linked to their management style. Stressed or burned-out managers are more likely to adopt a negative management style, including a passive one. These results are correlational: they do not prove the direction of the relationship, but they do show that taking care of managers also means taking care of their teams.
HR Professionals: Often-Overlooked Demands
HR professionals face two of the six categories of psychosocial factors described in research: emotional demands (dealing with distress, delivering difficult news, managing a conflict or a complaint) and value conflicts, when what is asked of them does not align with what they believe is right. These are real demands, even when they are not specified in any job description.
Management researchers have described this role using the term “toxin handlers”: individuals who absorb organizational tensions to protect others. Their work suggests that one key factor makes all the difference: formally recognizing this mission as part of the HR role, rather than relying solely on goodwill (Kulik et al., 2009).
Research on the health of HR professionals remains limited. This in itself is telling: those who look after the health of others are rarely the subject of study themselves.
Signs to Look For
For a manager or HR professional, certain signs should serve as a warning, especially when they persist for several weeks:
• fatigue that does not subside with rest;
• difficulty unwinding in the evening or during vacations;
• unusual irritability, or, conversely, withdrawal;
• a loss of purpose or a feeling of ineffectiveness;
• sleep disturbances;
• a management style that becomes harsher or more distant.
These signs do not constitute a diagnosis. They indicate that it is time to talk about it—with a healthcare professional if necessary.
What Really Helps
Training managers on mental health issues. A meta-analysis of ten controlled trials, published in 2018 in *Occupational and Environmental Medicine* (Gayed et al.), shows that these training programs improve managers’ knowledge, attitudes, and ability to support an employee in distress. Their effects on team health have yet to be confirmed.
Measurable results regarding absenteeism. In an Australian fire and rescue department, a randomized trial published in 2017 in *The Lancet Psychiatry* (Milligan-Saville et al.) tested a four-hour training program for managers. Work-related absenteeism decreased in the trained group, while it increased in the control group. The authors estimate the return on investment at nearly 10 to 1.
Beyond training, several strategies stem directly from the risk factors identified by research:
• clear roles, with defined responsibilities and boundaries, particularly for sensitive situations;
• real discretion, so that requirements are accompanied by the means to meet them;
• opportunities for peer exchange, such as peer supervision, to discuss difficult situations;
• accessible expert support to turn to when facing a complex situation;
• recognition by management of this often-unseen work.
In conclusion
Managers and HR professionals are often the first to notice when an employee isn't doing well. Their own health, however, rarely comes first.
Yet research provides clear reasons to be concerned: their health is linked to the quality of their management, and simple measures—such as training, clear role definitions, and peer support—have measurable effects. Taking care of those who provide support means protecting the entire organization.
Sources
- Prins S.J. et al. (2015). Anxious? Depressed? You might be suffering from capitalism: contradictory class locations and the prevalence of depression and anxiety in the USA. Sociology of Health & Illness. Abstract: Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.
- Health Promotion Switzerland (2022). Job-Stress-Index 2022, Fact Sheet 72. Press release
- Kaluza A.J., Boer D., Buengeler C., van Dick R. Leadership behavior and leader self-reported well-being: A review, integration, and meta-analytic examination. Work & Stress, DOI 10.1080/02678373.2019.1617369.
- Gayed A. et al. (2018). Effectiveness of training workplace managers to understand and support the mental health needs of employees: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 75(6), 462.
- Milligan-Saville J.S. et al. (2017). Workplace mental health training for managers and its effect on sick leave among employees: a cluster randomized controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry, DOI 10.1016/S2215-0366(17)30372-3. Trial analysis.
- Kulik C.T. et al. (2009). HR managers as toxin handlers: The buffering effect of formalizing toxin handling responsibilities. Human Resource Management.
