What Managers Really Need to Know About Mental Health and Wellbeing (Spoiler: It’s Not Just About KPIs)

Let’s be honest: the modern manager’s job isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days when a manager could bark orders, wave a spreadsheet like a sword, and consider the day a triumph. Today’s workplaces—thankfully—expect a little more humanity, a little more empathy, and a whole lot more mental-health awareness. And guess what? That’s a good thing.

Whether you’re leading a small team, a sprawling department, or that one employee who eats yoghurt loudly enough to trigger office-wide debates, you have a major role to play in supporting wellbeing. Yes, you. The Grade 6, slightly-higher-salary-than-the-rest-of-us leader of humans. You’re not just paid more because you’re good at approving expenses and saying things like “let’s circle back.” You’re paid more because you hold more accountability, more responsibility, and more influence over how people feel every single day.

Why Mental Health Training for Managers Is a Whole Different Creature

Here’s the deal: mental-health training for general staff is important. Absolutely. It raises awareness, encourages understanding, and reduces stigma. But training for managers? That’s a whole other species—one that comes with sharper teeth and bigger expectations.

Manager-level wellbeing training isn’t just about spotting signs of stress or being able to define “burnout” without checking Google. It’s about developing the confidence and skill to intervene, support, and take action. It’s about having sometimes-tricky, occasionally awkward conversations and doing so in a way that doesn’t send your employee running for the nearest exit sign.

Why the difference? Because managers can actually change things. Structural things. Workload things. Deadline things. Culture things. And those changes often determine whether someone sinks into stress or feels supported enough to swim.

A team member might notice a colleague burning out. A manager can prevent it.

And that’s exactly why the training is more complex, more in-depth, and yes, why managers are paid more. With great pay grade comes great responsibility.

Wellbeing Check-ins: The Compulsory Performance Review Element We All Need

Let’s talk performance reviews. The word alone can make someone’s pulse jump as they’ve just been told to present their unfinished homework to the class. Traditionally, reviews have been obsessed with charts, statistics, and phrases like “stretch objectives,” “value-add,” and “synergy”—words that sound impressive but often mean very little to the tired human sitting across from you.

But imagine if well-being check-ins were just as compulsory as discussing KPIs. Imagine if a manager genuinely had to ask:

• How are you feeling about your workload?

• What support do you need right now?

• What’s one small thing I could do to make your work-life easier?

These aren’t fluffy questions. They’re powerful. They show that a manager sees the employee as a person, not an output machine. And the funny thing? When people feel valued and supported, productivity naturally goes up, not down. People do better when they feel better. Revolutionary, I know.

Let’s engrave this into the office walls if we must: Well-being is a performance indicator.

Why Praise Beats Pressure (Every Time)

Some managers—usually the ones with an affinity for clipboards and a strong belief that fear builds character—seem convinced that constant criticism is the key to high performance. But here’s the truth supported by actual psychology, not just vibes: people do not work better when they’re constantly belittled. They just get quieter, less creative, more anxious, and start googling “jobs with zero human interaction” at 2 a.m.

A little praise goes an absurdly long way. You don’t have to throw confetti or burst into song every time someone answers an email on time. (Though honestly, that would make an incredible workplace.) Sometimes a simple, “Hey, you handled that really well,” can change someone’s entire day. It can reset motivation. It can boost confidence. It can make an employee actually want to log in tomorrow instead of fantasising about faking their own disappearance.

Value breeds loyalty.

Belittling breeds burnout.

It’s really that simple.

Managers, It’s Time to Step Up—But in the Best Possible Way

This isn’t about adding extra pressure to already-busy managers. It’s about recognising that managers have a unique and powerful opportunity to shape how people experience their working lives. Leadership isn’t just a job title—it’s an emotional ecosystem.

A good manager gets results. A great manager gets results while protecting the well-being of the people who deliver them.

This is where accountability matters. This is why the role is graded higher. This is why the training is tougher. And this is why wellbeing responsibilities can’t just be an optional afterthought.

Employees spend a massive portion of their lives at work. If you’re a manager, you are a key player in whether those hours feel motivating or miserable. So make them count. Make them humane. Make them healthy.

And next time you’re tempted to dive straight into KPIs during a check-in, pause and ask a different question first:

“How are you doing?”

You might be surprised at the difference it makes.