Beyond Empathy – Equipping Managers With the Skills to Support Employee Mental Health Effectively
- Brainz Magazine
- Aug 5
- 6 min read
Jessica Chesterman (HG, Dip.P) is a psychotherapist dedicated to transforming workplace mental health. As a distinguished Human Givens Ambassador, she specialises in helping individuals conquer depression and guiding couples through relationship challenges.
In today's fast-paced work environment, the mental well-being of employees should arguably take centre stage. Gone are the days when mental health was considered solely a private matter. It is now understood as a critical determinant of productivity, retention, and overall organisational success. While HR departments and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) play vital roles, as reported by UKG, it is often a frontline manager who holds the most direct influence over an employee's daily experience and, consequently, their mental state.
Yet, simply possessing empathy, while foundational, is no longer enough. Managers are increasingly confronted with team members struggling with stress, anxiety, burnout, and depression. Without a robust understanding of human needs and effective communication tools, even the most empathetic manager can feel overwhelmed, ill-equipped, or risk unintentionally exacerbating a situation and contributing to an employee losing hope.
This article argues that to truly support employee mental health, organisations must move beyond mere empathy and focus on equipping managers with specific skills rooted in a profound understanding of human needs.
Drawing upon the principles of Human Givens psychotherapy, we will explore how targeted training, early intervention strategies, and the cultivation of psychologically safe spaces enable managers to meet their teams' innate needs more effectively, fostering resilience and well-being.
The limitations of empathy alone: Understanding unmet needs
Empathy allows managers to connect, listen, and show care, all crucial for building rapport and trust, right? However, empathy alone falls short when confronted with complex mental health challenges. From a Human Givens perspective, emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, or burnout, arises when an individual's innate emotional and physical needs are not being met in healthy, balanced ways. There are nine core needs, and they include needs for such things as security, control, status, privacy, achievement, and purpose.
When a manager identifies distress, their empathy might trigger a desire to "fix" the problem. But without an understanding of which needs are going unmet or the skills to facilitate a solution, they can feel powerless or offer unhelpful advice. Furthermore, unchecked empathetic engagement without clear boundaries can lead to manager burnout, which highlights the importance of providing managers with a framework to understand ‘distress signals’ and how to direct individuals towards meeting their needs. So, what could that look like?
Targeted training for managers – Understanding human needs and resources
Effective manager training isn't about turning managers into therapists; it's about providing them with a practical, Human Givens-informed lens to understand and respond to distress.
Key training components
1. Mental health literacy through a needs lens: Managers need to understand common mental health challenges not just as diagnoses, but as indicators of unmet innate needs. For example:
Burnout: Often signals unmet needs for control (over workload), achievement (lack of recognition for effort), privacy (no time to switch off), and security (fear of job loss if they say "no").
Anxiety: Can arise from unmet needs for security (fear of the unknown), control (feeling overwhelmed), or status (fear of failure).
Withdrawal/Depression: May indicate unmet needs for community (isolation), attention (feeling unseen), meaning/purpose (lack of engagement), or intimacy (lack of close connections).
Managers can learn to observe behaviours and consider which needs might be in deficit and directly impacting someone's behaviours, emotional responses, or thinking style.
2. Effective communication
Active Listening & Non-Judgmental Inquiry: Managers are trained to listen for feelings and unmet needs, rather than just surface-level complaints. They learn to ask open-ended questions like, "What needs to happen for you to feel more in control of this?" or "What kind of support would help you feel more secure in this task?"
Pattern Interruption: While not directly conducting therapy, managers can be taught to gently challenge negative thought patterns without invalidating feelings. For example, helping an employee shift focus from what's "wrong" to what resources, skills, or competencies they do have.
3. Manager self-care & boundaries: A Human Givens approach also emphasizes that managers must meet their own needs to avoid empathy fatigue. Training includes setting healthy boundaries, understanding their role (supportive facilitator, not therapist), and knowing when to confidently hand over to professionals.
Early intervention – Spotting unmet needs and acting responsively
Early intervention is critical from a Human Givens perspective because the longer needs go unmet, the deeper the distress becomes, making resolution more challenging. Managers are uniquely positioned to spot early warning signs.
Key strategies for early intervention
Observing behavioural shifts: Managers learn to identify subtle changes in performance, attendance, engagement, or social interaction. These are seen as signals that an individual's internal resources for meeting needs are becoming depleted.
The compassionate check-in: Instead of directly asking "Are you okay?", managers are trained to initiate conversations by describing observable behaviour and expressing concern, focusing on impact rather than judgment. For example: "I've noticed you've been quieter in team meetings recently, and I wanted to check in. What is it that you need, or how can I support you?" This non-threatening approach reduces the likelihood of the individual retreating further.
Focusing on "what works": When an employee shares their struggle, managers are encouraged to shift the conversation towards practical solutions and available resources. Instead of dwelling on the problem, the Human Givens approach guides managers to ask: "What needs to happen for you to feel better?" or "What resources do you have, or need, to help you feel more [secure/in control/connected]?" This future-focused, solution-oriented approach can empower the employee.
Escalation pathways: Managers receive clear guidance on when and how to escalate concerns to HR or EAP, particularly in situations involving severe distress or risk. This is framed as ensuring the employee's needs are met by the most appropriate professional, rather than passing the buck.
Creating psychologically safe spaces – A foundation for needs fulfilment
Psychological safety, as conceptualised by Amy Edmondson, is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. From a Human Givens perspective, a psychologically safe environment is one that naturally facilitates the healthy fulfilment of innate needs, such as security, control, status, and community.
How managers foster psychological safety (meeting needs)
Leading with vulnerability (modelling trust): When managers admit mistakes or share appropriate personal challenges, they demonstrate that it's safe to be imperfect, fulfilling the need for security and intimacy (through genuine connection). This lowers the emotional arousal that often accompanies fear of judgment.
Valuing all voices (elevating status & attention): Actively soliciting and genuinely considering diverse perspectives, even if not ultimately implemented, fulfils employees' needs for status and attention. It reinforces that their contributions are valued, regardless of their position.
Framing failure as learning (reducing threat): By viewing mistakes as opportunities for growth rather than grounds for punishment, managers remove a significant threat to an employee's security and status. This encourages experimentation and honest reporting, essential for innovation and problem-solving.
Promoting inclusivity & respect (fulfilling community & security): A zero-tolerance policy for discrimination or bullying ensures that the fundamental needs for security and community are met for all. Managers actively promote a culture where everyone feels they belong and are respected.
Empowering autonomy (increasing control): Where possible, providing employees with choice over how and when they work, or how they approach tasks, directly meets their need for control. This reduces stress and fosters a sense of ownership.
Transparent communication (enhancing security & control): Openly communicating about changes, decisions, and challenges, even the difficult ones, helps employees feel more secure and in control, reducing the "threat" response caused by uncertainty.
By proactively building such environments, managers aren't just responding to mental health crises; they are creating conditions where distress is less likely to arise in the first place, allowing individuals to meet their needs and thrive.
Conclusion: Investing in managers, investing in well-being
Moving "beyond empathy" is not about diminishing the importance of care, but about empowering managers with practical, psychologically informed skills. By training managers in mental health literacy through the lens of innate human needs, equipping them with early intervention techniques, and guiding them in cultivating psychologically safe spaces, organisations create a powerful ecosystem of support.
This investment in managers is an investment in human capital. When employees' innate needs are consistently met in the workplace, they are more resilient, engaged, and productive.
As a psychotherapist, I see daily the profound impact of unmet needs on individuals. By adopting a Human Givens approach to manager training, businesses can proactively foster environments where mental well-being is not just supported, but genuinely prioritised, leading to healthier people and more successful organisations.
Read more from Jessica Chesterman
Jessica Chesterman, Psychotherapist HG, Dip.P
As a Human Givens Ambassador with 15+ years in corporate enterprise sales, Jessica Chesterman (HG, Dip.P) is passionate about empowering individuals to manage their mental health. Her therapeutic approach, grounded in the latest psychological and neurobiological research, is focused on understanding how emotional needs are met across all aspects of life. By addressing these needs, she aims to help as many people as possible thrive in the workplace and beyond
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