Expectations of Leaders' Mental Health

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Leadership Studies
• Occupational Mental Health

Background:

• Workplace mental health is a growing research area.
• Little is known about assumptions regarding leaders' mental health.
• Implicit leadership theories suggest leaders are idealized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether people hold expectations about leaders' mental health.
• To examine if mental illness is incongruent with leadership prototypes.
• To understand the role of job resources and demands in leader mental health perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods approach across three studies.
• Study 1: Survey assessing mental health expectations based on role (n=85).
• Study 2 & 3: Vignette experiments manipulating employee health and organizational role (n=200, n=104).

Main Results:

• Leaders are expected to have higher well-being and less mental illness than non-leaders.
• Mental illness is perceived as incongruent with leadership prototypes.
• Leaders' perceived access to organizational resources is thought to facilitate well-being and inhibit mental illness.

Conclusions:

• Identifies leader mental health expectations as a novel attribute in leader evaluation.
• Findings extend occupational mental health and leadership literature.
• Discusses implications for organizational decision-makers, leaders, and aspiring leaders.