Breaking the Myth: Why Leadership Wellness is a Strategic Necessity, NOT a Luxury

Research has shown that employees can handle high levels of work-related stress for extended periods if organisational protocols are in place to manage this load. However, currently, only 51% of employers with 50 or more employees offer some type of wellness programme.

Despite mounting evidence of its importance, many organisations still view wellness as a “nice-to-have” rather than a strategic necessity.

Mind the Gap

A 2022 survey by Headspace revealed that 94% of CEOs believe they provide adequate mental health support to their employees.

However, only 67% of employees agreed with this assessment, indicating a significant disparity between leadership perception and employee experience.

Throughout the pandemic, there was a marked increase in the amount of support employers provided for their employees’ mental health.

As pandemic-related stressors subsided and a return to a “business as usual” attitude adopted, research shows that employees now deal with a whole new set of stressors and challenges.

According to Headspace’s report, just 25% say their company has kept up its focus on mental health in the last year. (2024)

The Real Cost of Ignoring Leadership Burnout Traps

Burnout among senior leaders isn’t just an individual issue, it’s an organisational one. Leaders set the tone for the company, influencing culture, productivity, and decision-making.

Sir Martin Broughton, Chairman of British Airways for 10 years between 2003 and 2013, annually enforced a two-week annual leave period for his employees to take a much-needed break.

By making sure he did the same, he led by example in creating a ripple effect of prioritising ‘switching off’ to be able to perform better when ‘switched on’.

This visionary foresight only came about after witnessing he was having the very opposite ripple effect on his organisation, by coming in early each day.

Like many leaders, he liked to get in early each morning to have a small window of focussed pressure free time to get some tasks off his desk and prepare for the day.

However, as his employees noticed he was there early, they too began the creep into the office earlier and earlier, believing it to show high levels of commitment, wearing the badge of honour of early starts and late finishes.

It culminated with him looking over his computer one morning to the office floor beyond, full of employees at 07.15 in the morning and thinking, this has to change, not only had he lost his morning sanctuary of calm, but he was also placing his teams on a course for burnout.

When teams are overwhelmed, stressed, or burned out, the ripple effects can be devastating

Like all good leaders, he made the changes.

Replacing a burned-out senior leader is costly, on average, recruiting a senior manager can cost £10,000–£30,000 ($12000-$36,000), factoring in recruitment fees, training, and onboarding expenses.

The cost of senior leaders’ absenteeism and sick leave due to stress or mental health issues can be astronomical. A single week of absence for a senior executive might cost the organisation thousands in lost productivity and interim solutions.

The cost to the individual is obviously far higher than any metric can measure.

When measured against the financial and operational consequences of leadership burnout, the daily investment of an employee assistance programme equivalent to a coffee and pastry per day per employee is a small price to pay.

All stress is NOT equal.

Stress is universally applied, but individually managed

Recent data from The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reveals that 83% of employees now experience weekly work-related stress, with about 29% facing burnout.

As a former professional footballer for 18 years scoring goals was a daily and seasonal part of my life, one of the most stressful elements of this was penalty kicks.

As cool as some players look, it’s a high pressure, high stress situation.

Some thrived

Some didn’t

The same happens with organisational stress

Some thrive

Some don’t

If I talk to my elder brother David, a senior estimator of a large construction company – paid well to price multi-million-pound developments, and cope with the associated stress that comes with the wage – he switches off immediately, it’s simply not for him.

I don’t worry about him.

In fact, whilst growing up, he taught most of what I know about resilience.

And that’s fine, but he’s clearly in the minority.

A 2023 report by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) revealed that 73% of employees would like sone leadership and wellness coaching, indicating a strong appreciation for its benefits.

Why HR is not the answer?

Like most teams within an organisation, HR teams are stretched thin, juggling responsibilities like recruitment, compliance, and training. This heavy workload often leaves little time to focus on proactive wellness initiatives.

Without a structured wellness programme, which includes an external independent point of contact, employees can often find it hard to know when, where and how to express their concerns.

According to a survey conducted by the SHRM, approximately 45% of employees express reluctance to approach in-house HR departments with professional, personal or sensitive issues due to concerns around confidentiality and potential repercussions within the organisation.

Outsourcing life coaching for employees’ benefits the organisations by providing guidance and support to individual needs, ensuring employees receive unbiased and confidential support, which may not always be available within the constraints of an internal HR system.

Why the Salus Wellness Programme

The role of an external wellness coach is to reduce employee stress and burnout by helping individuals to develop effective coping strategies, enhance resilience, improve work-life balance, ultimately fostering greater well-being and productivity.

This programme seeks to assist Human Resource (HR) departments in increasing employee engagement, productivity and satisfaction.

Conclusion

The evidence is compelling, leadership wellness is not a luxury—it’s a strategic necessity.

Organisations that recognise this not only protect their most valuable assets, their people, but also gain a competitive edge in a demanding business environment.

If you’re ready to shift your perspective on wellness and take proactive steps to support your senior leadership team, contact us to learn more about The Salus Wellness Programme.

Together, we can create a healthier, more resilient future for your organisation.