TOXIC LEADERSHIP AND MENTAL HEALTH
Recently one of our readers shared with me a heart-breaking analogy of being mistreated at the workplace by her company leadership. The said leader was pelting abusive words at subordinates, giving out tasks without reasonable amount of time earmarked for task completion and unfathomable disregard of the emotional factors in subordinates’ lives. The reader as a consequence had sleepless nights and reluctance to go to work.
This had influence on today’s discussion of exploring how toxic managers can facilitate the development of mental illnesses within the workplace.
Toxic leaders and/or managers do affect employees adversely in the workplace. Several studies have weighed in on the matter with one study by Murari highlighting that arrogance and interpersonal sensitivity on the part of abusive leaders reduce the prospects of employee empowerment. Furthermore, abusive leadership was seen to facilitate low self-esteem, stress and poor productivity among subordinates.
The pertinent question; is toxic leadership not a sign of emotional distress and psychological distress on the part of the leader? Most of the time we focus on the damage done by these leaders but it may be significant to look into why leaders are toxic. Leaders face a daunting task of meeting targets which may lead to them pushing subordinates.
Most leaders neglect self-care whilst focusing on the job, which puts them at risk for mental health complications like stress, burnout, and persistent use of alcohol and other drugs. Some of the behaviours like angry outbursts are warning signs of potential mental health problems.
As succinctly posited by Israelmore Ayivor, “21st century leaders use their brain cells more than their muscle tissues” and thus a lot should be done to nurture their mental health. Mental health in the workplace is a leadership issue and should be nurtured from the top which calls for leaders to be in the forefront in integrating mental health programmes in their respective organisations.
Leaders need to introspect on own mental health and take action. Self-awareness is also key in order to allow them to look into characters and traits that can be addressed for optimal mental health functioning.
Those tasked with leadership roles need to get education on mental health issues Leaders should optimise work life- balance to minimise the risk of mental health problems.