Introduction: The Hidden Cost of Carrying It All

Managers are often described as the backbone of a company—and for good reason. They set the tone for culture, translate strategy into action, and hold together teams through uncertainty and change. But while much of the employee wellbeing conversation focuses on frontline workers, one group is quietly slipping through the cracks: managers themselves.

Many managers are burned out, overwhelmed, and unsupported. They’re expected to deliver results, care for their teams, adapt to shifting priorities, and model resilience—all without dropping the ball. The pressure is immense, and the cost is growing.

In today’s workplace, manager mental health is no longer a personal issue—it’s a business imperative. It directly affects engagement, retention, team morale, and organizational performance.

In this post, we’ll explore:

  • Why manager mental health is often overlooked
  • The connection between manager wellbeing and employee engagement
  • Signs your managers may be struggling
  • How organizations can support manager mental health in practical ways
  • How Woliba helps bring balance back to the people who lead your people

The State of Manager Mental Health

According to a recent report by Future Forum, 43% of people managers report burnout—a rate higher than that of individual contributors. Why? Because they’re managing up, down, and across—while being expected to stay calm, strategic, and emotionally available.

The demands on managers have grown:

  • More direct reports
  • Constantly shifting priorities
  • Remote and hybrid team dynamics
  • Increased expectations around DEI, wellbeing, and engagement
  • Pressure to deliver on performance without burning out their teams

It’s no wonder so many are overwhelmed. But what’s most concerning is this: burned-out managers rarely ask for help. They push through, hide the stress, and continue supporting everyone but themselves.

This makes manager mental health both a silent struggle and a hidden barrier to engagement.

Why It Matters: The Ripple Effect of Burnout

Manager mental health doesn’t just impact the individual—it affects everyone they lead.

Burned-out managers are more likely to:

  • Struggle with communication
  • Miss opportunities to recognize and motivate their team
  • Make reactive or inconsistent decisions
  • Model unhealthy work habits (like skipping breaks or working through PTO)
  • Create environments of stress or disengagement—often unintentionally

On the other hand, when managers feel balanced, supported, and mentally well, they:

  • Communicate more clearly
  • Lead with empathy and consistency
  • Create space for psychological safety
  • Foster team wellbeing and performance

In other words, you can’t have an engaged team without a healthy manager.

Signs Your Managers May Be Struggling

Because many managers feel pressure to appear “strong” and in control, it can be difficult to spot signs of burnout or declining mental health.

Here are some early warning signs to watch for:

  • Increased irritability or withdrawal
  • Decline in team engagement or morale
  • Missed deadlines or scattered follow-through
  • A reluctance to delegate or take time off
  • Lack of participation in wellbeing or recognition programs

If these patterns are emerging across teams or departments, it’s time to take a closer look—not at performance, but at wellbeing beneath the surface.

How to Support Manager Mental Health

Supporting manager mental health starts by recognizing a fundamental truth: wellbeing isn’t just about yoga classes or access to an EAP. It’s about designing a workplace that allows people to both lead effectively and live sustainably. That means shifting from reactive programs to proactive systems—and embedding wellbeing into leadership expectations, daily habits, and the culture itself.

Here are five practical and powerful ways organizations can create meaningful support for manager mental health:

1. Normalize the Conversation

The first step in reducing stigma around mental health—especially at the management level—is simply talking about it. Too often, stress, overwhelm, or emotional fatigue are treated as personal shortcomings instead of organizational signals.

To change that, senior leaders must model vulnerability and transparency. This could be as simple as a VP sharing how they manage stress during all-hands meetings or a department lead talking openly about the importance of boundaries in 1:1s. When leaders speak up, it gives others—especially managers—permission to do the same.

Encourage conversations about workload, balance, emotional resilience, and the realities of leading people. Not everything needs to be “fixed” immediately—just being heard is a powerful first step.

2. Set Boundaries at the Top

Wellbeing starts with leadership behavior. If executives consistently send late-night emails, skip time off, or glorify being overbooked, that mindset trickles down. The result? Managers internalize the message that productivity is more valued than personal health.

To truly support manager mental health, your culture needs to reward balance—not burnout.

Encourage—and model—behavior like:

  • Taking PTO without guilt or pressure to stay plugged in
  • Disconnecting outside of work hours
  • Respecting downtime and modeling clear boundaries
  • Publicly recognizing leaders who promote sustainability in their teams

Healthy leadership habits create the psychological safety for managers to prioritize their own wellbeing—and lead their teams to do the same.

3. Rethink Performance Metrics

Traditional performance metrics often focus on output, results, and short-term wins. But these numbers rarely capture how those outcomes are achieved—or at what cost.

To create long-term success, expand how you define great leadership. Include indicators like:

  • Team retention and engagement scores
  • Peer and upward feedback
  • Participation in wellbeing or recognition initiatives
  • Evidence of coaching, development, and inclusive practices

By integrating how people lead into performance reviews and rewards, you send a clear message: leading well includes taking care of people—including yourself.

4. Provide Mental Health Education

Even managers with the best intentions can struggle to identify burnout—or know how to respond to it, especially in themselves. That’s why education is essential.

Offer accessible training that covers:

  • Recognizing signs of burnout, anxiety, and emotional fatigue
  • How to have supportive mental health conversations with direct reports
  • Tools for stress management and resilience-building
  • When and how to refer to HR or professional resources

Bonus: make this training part of your onboarding and manager development programs—not just a one-off event.

When managers understand the science and skills behind mental health, they’re better prepared to lead with empathy, confidence, and care.

5. Build in Support Systems

Managers need more than information—they need real, built-in support they can rely on. That includes personal, peer-based, and professional resources, such as:

  • Access to confidential coaching or therapy
  • Peer circles where managers can discuss shared challenges
  • Scheduled wellness check-ins from HR or team leads
  • Micro-break campaigns or wellbeing nudges to normalize rest
  • A simple “mental health toolkit” with curated content, scripts, and strategies

Even 30 minutes a month dedicated to wellness check-ins—whether for themselves or their teams—can lead to lasting change. The key is consistency and making mental health support feel like a normal part of being a leader, not an extra task.

Together, these five practices form the foundation of a workplace where manager mental health is protected, prioritized, and practiced. Because when your managers feel well, they don’t just perform better—they help everyone else thrive, too.

How Woliba Helps Managers Go From Burnout to Balance

Woliba helps organizations move from reactive to proactive when it comes to manager wellbeing.

Here’s how we support manager mental health across the employee experience:

  • Automated wellness prompts and check-ins built into daily workflows
  • Recognition tools that help managers celebrate others—and be celebrated themselves
  • Access to curated content on stress management, resilience, and leadership wellbeing
  • Pulse surveys and dashboards to monitor team sentiment and engagement in real time
  • Challenges and campaigns that invite managers to participate in wellbeing—not just promote it

Because managers shouldn’t just be expected to support wellness. They should experience it, too.

Final Thoughts: The Next Frontier of Engagement

Employee engagement starts at the top—but it thrives in the middle. If we want teams to feel supported, seen, and motivated, we have to start with the people who support them every day: managers.

Manager mental health is the next frontier of engagement. Not because it’s trendy, but because it’s foundational. When managers thrive, teams flourish. When they burn out, culture breaks down.

Let’s stop asking managers to carry it all—and start helping them carry what matters.

Ready to build a culture where managers can lead with balance?
Visit woliba.io to learn how we support whole-person wellbeing at every level of leadership.