Managers prioritize wellness

- Do as I say and not as I do. Well, if you're a parent, you know how ineffective this idea is. The reality is, as a manager, your employees look up to you. They're listening to what you tell them to do, but they're paying closer attention to what you actually do. This is why it's critical for managers to prioritize wellness. I'm not talking about fluffy and feel-good stuff, because it's trendy. At the end of the day, wellness impacts the bottom line of your business in more ways than you might think.

You can't take care of your team if you aren't taking care of yourself. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, overworked managers treat their employees less fairly. The researchers found that the more work managers needed to accomplish, the more likely they were to turn their attention to the tasks and neglect the needs of their employees. Let's be honest, burnout is real. You can't give your best effort if you're burning the candles from both ends and in the middle, too. Further, as the manager, you set the pace of work for the team.

Regardless of what you say, if you're sending emails late at night, your employees will feel obligated to respond. This can have a negative ripple effect. Say you send an email at two a.m. to your team of eight, this is when you see people on teams unnecessarily start responding to emails to show that they're working just as hard as everyone else. After a couple of people Reply All, everyone on the team starts to chime in to show that they're also up late and working hard.

I'd hate to be the guy who wakes up to seven emails on this topic. More importantly, this leads to burnout and resentment from everyone on the team. Your team takes its cues from you. They won't feel comfortable taking care of themselves if they don't see you doing it. So go home at the end of the work day, or at least leave the office for a bit. Don't stay late unless you absolutely have to. Now, there may be times, say around an important deadline when you'll need to work late hours.

Otherwise, don't let this become the norm. If you need to work late, save emails that aren't time sensitive in your Drafts folder and send them first thing in the morning on the next business day. There are even ways you can set an automatic timer for when your messages are sent. Managers must model practices that emphasize wellness for everyone by practicing what they preach. Tired, stressed employees can't contribute their best work. By modeling behavior you want to see, your team will stay in fighting shape.