Leading for Wellness

Leaders should be “Generators.”

Research from Gallup indicates that in 2022, employee burnout cost companies over $3 billion worldwide. Companies often introduce wellness programs as add-ons aimed at the symptoms of stress and burnout. Such approaches can worsen stress and burnout because they ignore the underlying sources of both. For example, when a veterinary clinic’s surveys showed that staff felt burned out from constantly working overtime, human resources sent employees to an online course on being more resilient. They required them to complete it within a week. Staff had no time for training during business hours, and had to take the course over their weekends, leaving them even more burned out and frustrated.

To promote employee wellness, business leaders must regard workers as human beings with physical, mental, and emotional health needs as well as personal lives. Leaders should aspire to be “Generators”: individuals who energize their teams by creating workplaces that engage employees and help them perform their best. They should never be “Extinguishers” who force employees to work longer and harder. Generators boost employee productivity and serve business...