Managing the load on the people who manage others
Manager support needs time and authority. Training alone does not create capacity for difficult conversations and follow through.
The performance question
A manager’s workload includes listening, handling conflict, supporting absence and making adjustments, as well as technical delivery. Those responsibilities should be visible in job planning. Otherwise a wellness initiative can add another duty to a person already carrying an incompatible portfolio.
What the evidence supports
NICE NG212 section 1.5 recommends systematic manager support, time for training, authority to adjust workload and attention to managers’ own needs. It also recommends evaluating employee outcomes rather than assuming attendance demonstrates effectiveness.1
A practical approach
Review spans of responsibility alongside case complexity and technical duties. Set aside time for staff conversations and action, provide access to People and occupational health advice, and clarify which adjustments a manager can approve. Offer peer support while retaining a confidential route for concerns about the manager’s own workload.
How to review progress
Ask employees whether agreed actions actually happened and managers whether they could use their authority. Monitor unresolved cases and delayed conversations in aggregate. Do not expect managers to diagnose conditions or become the sole source of clinical support.
Sources and references
- Mental wellbeing at work Opens in a new tab
NICE
NG212 sections 1.1 to 1.6: strategy, environment, managers and individual support
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