ARK SPACE / WELLBEING JOURNAL
Managing Stress as a Manager: Why Leaders Often Neglect Their Own Wellbeing First
Managers are frequently the last people in an organisation to get support - not because they need it less, but because the role itself makes asking harder.
Why managers under-support themselves:
Role confusion. If you're the person others come to for support, it can feel counterintuitive - or even like a failure - to need it yourself.
Visibility. A manager's stress is more exposed than an individual contributor's - struggling in a senior or team-facing role often feels riskier to show.
Absorbed load. Managers frequently carry the emotional weight of their whole team's struggles on top of their own workload, without a clear outlet for any of it.
"No time" as a permanent state. Ironically, the people best placed to model taking wellbeing seriously often feel they have the least time to do so themselves.
What tends to help:
Naming the specific load, not just "stress" generally. Managing your own workload plus absorbing your team's difficulties is a distinct, heavier kind of load than either alone - recognising this as real, rather than something to just push through, is often the first shift.
Coaching focused specifically on the manager role. General stress advice often misses the particular dynamics of being responsible for other people's performance and wellbeing simultaneously. Coaching that's specific to this dual load tends to be more effective than generic stress management content.
Peer support with other managers. Talking to people managing the same kind of dual pressure, rather than only direct reports or superiors, is often where managers feel able to be most honest.
Modelling boundaries, not just talking about them. A manager who visibly protects their own time and uses support themselves gives their team more real permission to do the same than any policy statement could.
If you manage people, your own wellbeing isn't a luxury - it directly shapes how much genuine capacity you have to support your team, and modelling it well is one of the most effective (if underrated) things a manager can do for company culture.
Common Questions
Why do managers often neglect their own mental health? Role visibility, absorbed team stress, and the perception that needing support conflicts with the leadership role all contribute - it's a structural pattern, not an individual failing.
Does manager wellbeing actually affect team wellbeing? Yes - manager stress and burnout are strongly linked to team-level disengagement and stress, making manager support one of the highest-leverage wellbeing investments a company can make.
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