Employee wellbeing is no longer a “nice to have”. Today, it’s being recognised as the engine that drives sustainable peak-performance and productivity. Nowhere is this more evident than in the role managers and leaders play. Whilst there has (pleasingly) been a growing prioritisation of individual employees’ wellbeing, the role of managers has been somewhat neglected.

When you are well, you lead well.

The Manager Ripple Effect

Let’s be clear: the wellbeing of your managers isn’t just a personal issue, it’s a business imperative. According to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report, manager breakdown is now a significant concern, with the accumulated toll of pandemic-era demands still reverberating. Manager engagement has slipped from 30% to 27% globally. For managers under 35, engagement dropped by five percentage points, and female manager wellbeing fell by seven points. This isn’t just a “bad year”, it’s a warning sign for your people and your business (Gallup, 2025).

Why does this matter? Because a staggering 70% of team engagement is directly attributable to the manager (Gallup, 2025). When managers are disengaged, fatigued or burnt out, their teams follow suit. As humans we have “mirror neurons” meaning that employees unconsciously emulate the behaviours and attitudes their managers and leaders display. If your managers are frazzled, stressed, or running on fumes, your team’s performance and wellbeing will mirror that.

The Business Case: Investing in Manager Wellbeing Pays Off

The numbers are compelling. The Workplace Engagement Index 2025 found that developing and supporting managers increases manager wellbeing by 32%. When organisations provide targeted training, manager thriving jumps from 28% to 34% (Workplace Engagement Index, 2025, p.13). This isn’t just about feeling better, it’s about performing better and being able to sustain that performance over time. Well-supported and thriving managers drive productivity and support the performance and wellbeing of their colleagues too, more than any app or basket of fruit ever will.

The WorkWell Leaders Impact Measure (2024) puts it bluntly: “Leader wellbeing is 56 times more effective in shaping organisational wellbeing than stress management and resilience programmes and 50 times more effective than wellbeing apps. It is also 11 times more effective in shaping organisational performance than employee participation in stress management or resilience programs and 4 times more effective than wellbeing apps” (p.11). Supporting your leaders isn’t a luxury or a trend. It’s a strategic business decision.

The Organisational Wellbeing-Performance Matrix
(source- https://www.workwellleaders.org/programmes/workwell-leaders-impact-measure/)

McKinsey Health Institute estimates that enhancing workplace wellbeing could generate up to $11.7 trillion in global economic value (McKinsey Health Institute, 2024). And Oxford University research confirms that companies with strong wellbeing ratings consistently outperform major market indices like the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones (Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, 2024). Investing in your managers’ wellbeing and equipping them with the skills to support their colleagues is not only vital for their wellbeing, but for the health of your business too.

Thriving Leaders, Thriving Business

We’re living through a time of unprecedented digital change, global, financial and political uncertainty and unrelenting workplace demands. The cost of ignoring manager wellbeing is clear: fatigue and burnout cascade through teams, undermining engagement, productivity and ultimately, organisational results. But the solution is equally clear: invest in your managers.

When you invest in manager wellbeing, you’re not just ticking a box. You’re powering up your entire organisation. As the research above shows, thriving leaders are the foundation of thriving businesses.

Ready to Power Up Your Leaders?

If you want to future-proof your organisation and unlock sustainable high performance, it starts with your leaders. My Optimised Performance Program is designed to equip managers with neuroscience-backed strategies to boost wellbeing and performance, so they can lead themselves and their teams to thrive, regardless of the challenges and uncertainties they’re facing.

Because when your leaders are well, your business performs at its best.