Managers are left feeling distressed, sad and nervous and are more likely to be detached from work on days when they listen to their employees’ concerns, an HBR study finds. Managers may be spending as much as 2.5 hours a week listening to their employees’ own worries, including about marriages, mental health and child care.
“On busy days, it can be particularly frustrating for leaders to have additional, and often unanticipated, demands on their time, and they reported more negative emotions on these days,” HBR reports.
But there was some good news. “On days when leaders felt that their support with personal issues had a positive impact on the lives of their employees, their negative mood was less impacted,” HBR notes. “Feelings of prosocial impact, in fact, enhanced leaders’ positive mood.”
More experienced managers are more likely to better deal with troubled employees who share concerns as opposed to more green managers.