Your Manager Affects Your Mental Health More Than Your Therapist
Managers influence employee mental health as much as spouses do, and more than doctors or therapists. Most companies still treat management as a promotion, not a skill.
The Workforce Institute at UKG surveyed 3,400 people across 10 countries and found something that should reshape how we think about leadership:
Managers affect employee mental health as much as spouses do. And more than doctors or therapists.
Let that sink in. The person running your weekly standup has the same impact on your psychological wellbeing as the person you share your life with.
69% of employees said their manager had the greatest impact on their mental health, on par with their partner. 60% said the impact exceeded their doctor or therapist.
The implications are uncomfortable. Most organizations treat management as a reward for individual performance, not a discipline requiring specific skills. We promote top sellers into sales managers, top engineers into engineering managers, without ever training them for the psychological responsibility they now carry.
Untrained managers create mental health costs that show up as turnover, absenteeism, and disengagement. You're paying for it whether you track it or not.
The nudge: Ask yourself: what percentage of your management training budget goes to communication, emotional intelligence, and psychological safety? If the answer is low, you're underinvesting in the biggest mental health lever you have.
