Senior Leaders Need Support

Organizations need to proactively support senior leaders as 82 per cent typically feel the mental and/or physical exhaustion indicative of burnout and 51 per cent were contemplating leaving, retiring, or downshifting from their current organization or position, says a report from Deloitte Canada and LifeWorks. To do so, organizations need to start by reducing stigma regarding mental health. In the survey, 55 per cent expressed concern about their career opportunities if their employer became aware they had a mental health issue. Reducing stigma, taking tangible steps toward a psychologically safe environment, and encouraging leaders to show up authentically all help create an inclusive and healthier workplace culture. As well, peer relationships need to be strengthened. While 59 per cent reported that work peers are helpful in supporting resilience, 65 per cent of peer relationships worsened throughout the pandemic. In addition, 59 per cent of those with improved peer relationships reported improved productivity. Strained peer-to-peer relationships increase tension by fueling a competitive environment focused solely on personal achievements, which may be at the expense of others and organizational performance. Other steps include enhancing mental health and wellbeing support and rethinking work as the top source of work-related stress (68 per cent) was sheer volume of work. Organizations should rethink their approach to work, addressing expanding workloads and work complexity, and implementing better prioritization.