Managers play an important role in supporting mental well-being, recognizing mental-health challenges and creating a supportive and caring environment for employees, said Carmen Bellows, registered psychologist and director of mental-health solutions at Sun Life Financial Inc., during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Vancouver Benefits Summit.
Individuals are facing a lot of uncertainty right now, whether it be personal health, geopolitics or the increased price in groceries, she said, but resilience — the ability to adapt or change when things don’t go as expected — can differentiate people leaders.
Highlighting the current threats to organizational and employee resilience, Bellows listed the continued rise in mental-health issues, increasing incidence in chronic disease, social disconnection and economic instability — all which can contribute to employee burnout. “There’s a clear relationship between burnout and resilience. Burnout erodes resilience.”
Read: How employers can alleviate employee burnout amid global economic volatility
Burnout also lowers confidence, efficiency, productivity and creativity, she added, which increases turnover rates, so the role of the manager is critical in carrying teams through burnout.
According to a 2022 report by Businesssolver, more than a third of employees said their manager has the greatest impact on building an empathetic workplace. However, Bellows noted managers aren’t mental-health experts and it’s important to put healthy limits and boundaries in place.
Managers need to be able to have empathy and manage workloads effectively while also maintaining their own mental health, she added, noting they can recognize compromised mental health at work through observing the symptoms and effects of their employee’s moods, thoughts, cognition and physical signs.
When employers notice warning signs, Bellows recommended they prepare documentation of observed behaviour changes, objectively measuring performance and behaviours and always maintaining confidentiality.
Read: Expert panel: How employers can help employees struggling with burnout
She also highlighted a concerning decline in perceived organizational empathy, which dropped from 72 per cent in 2021 to 69 per cent in 2022. This decline is worrisome, she noted, because around 70 per cent of employees and human resources professionals believe empathetic organizations drive higher employee motivation.
“It’s especially important for managers to lead with empathy in uncertain times when many team members are feeling unsettled and navigating internal and external complexities.”
Empathetic leadership improves employee engagement, morale and productivity by making workers feel understood and valued, which will inherently make them more committed to their job, said Bellows.
For managers to lead with empathy, she called for them to create a safe workplace, recognize when employees are struggling, set boundaries, manage behaviour and provide employees with the necessary support and resources.
Read more coverage of the 2025 Vancouver Benefits Summit.