Marie-Josée Michaud
Author and strategist in workplace mental health, leadership and human resources mobilization
A Rising Expectation in a Context of Increasing Strain
Levels of psychological distress in the workforce have increased in recent years, driven by economic pressure, organizational change, and ongoing uncertainty about stability and workload.
In response, organizations are placing greater expectations on managers and leaders to be attentive to employee mental health. Managers are encouraged to notice early signs of distress, initiate conversations, and respond with empathy.
These expectations are both necessary and well-intentioned.
However, they often overlook a critical question: what happens after the conversation begins?
When Empathy Has No Operational Path
What happens when a manager recognizes that an employee is struggling, opens the conversation, but has no clear tools, structure, or guidance for what comes next?
In many cases, managers are left navigating ambiguity, emotional responsibility, and decision uncertainty without a defined framework for action.
Empathy is present. But direction is missing other than, trying to reduce barriers at work and keep the person connected, feeling safe, and functioning, handling a pamphlet or offering time off.
Over time, this gap creates pressure that is rarely acknowledged but increasingly felt. Especially when giving time off or giving more accommodation means putting the burden on the rest of the team.
The Hidden Cost: Emotional Load Without Resolution
Repeated exposure to complex interpersonal or mental health-related situations, without adequate support mechanisms, can contribute to emotional depletion.
Often referred to as empathy fatigue, this does not reflect a lack of care. Rather, it reflects the accumulation of unresolved emotional and relational complexity in managerial roles.
This is not a failure of individual managers. It is a structural gap in organizational design.
The Risk of Incomplete Expectations
Many organizational approaches focus on increasing awareness: encouraging managers to “be empathetic,” “listen,” and “keep the door open.”
While these principles are important, they remain incomplete if not accompanied by practical pathways for response, escalation, and support.
Without this structure, managers may experience:
- uncertainty about how to act after disclosure
- fear of doing the wrong thing
- hesitation in decision-making
- emotional overload or a tendency to disengage from the situation
The result is not better support, but fragmented responsibility and the perception of a cold or distant manager.
What We Learned From Manager-to-Manager Support Systems
Between 2017 and 2018, I led the development of the Manager to Manager (M2M) Mental Health Network for the Government of Canada, launched in May 2018.
The initiative created a confidential peer-based environment where managers could discuss real situations with experienced directors trained to support complex workplace challenges related to mental health.
The objective was not additional awareness training. It was operational support for real-time decision-making.
Why Such Systems Were Necessary
Despite training and awareness initiatives, many managers still did not feel safe or equipped to seek support when facing sensitive situations.
Key barriers identified included:
- fear of being perceived as incompetent or weak
- lack of time to implement guidance
- limited trust in available support and advice
- concern about career consequences
negative prior experiences with HR or organizational processes
These barriers revealed a structural issue: support existed in theory, but was not accessible in practice.
The Core Gap: Support Without Psychological Safety
The findings consistently pointed to one conclusion: managers do not only need guidance on what to do. They need environments where they can safely think through what to do.
Without this, responsibility increases while support remains fragmented, leaving managers to absorb both operational and emotional load.
Rethinking the Role of Managers
Organizations continue to position managers as the primary point of support for employee mental health.
However, this role cannot function effectively without parallel systems of guidance, peer support, and decision frameworks.
Managers are not intended to be the system itself.
They are part of it.
Final Reflection
Empathy is essential in leadership. But empathy alone is not a system.
Without structure, it becomes an additional burden placed on individuals rather than a supported capability within organizations.
The question is no longer whether managers should care.
It is whether they are equipped to act effectively after they do.