When lead­er­ship qual­ity de­clines, em­ploy­ees’ de­press­ive symp­toms in­crease

Sound leadership is not only about job satisfaction and workplace atmosphere.

A new study based on Danish data shows that changes in leadership quality are closely linked to employees’ mental health. When leadership quality declines, employees’ depressive symptoms increase. When leadership quality improves, symptoms decrease.

“It is not that people necessarily become severely clinically depressed due to poor leadership, but it has a noticeable and significant impact on employees’ mental health. Conversely, when people experience a high frequency of positive leadership behaviour, it has a positive effect on their mental health,” says Johan Simonsen Abildgaard,who is associate professor at the Department of Organization at Copenhagen Business School and co-author of the study, which is published in the scientific journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 

The study is based on data from the nationwide Work Environment and Health study, and the researchers have followed thousands of employees over several years and linked survey responses with Danish register data. The analysis of depressive symptoms includes 6,062 employees, while an analysis of antidepressant treatment covers 15,619.

Leadership quality is about concrete actions

In the study, leadership quality refers to specific types of positive leadership behaviour, which includes whether the leader sets clear goals and shares information, involves employees, supports their professional development, provides feedback and recognition, and builds relationships characterised by support and trust.

In other words, it is not about whether a leader is well liked, but about concrete actions in everyday work.

So, according to Johan Simonsen Abildgaard, you do not ask whether leadership is good in an abstract sense, but how often specific types of leadership behaviour actually take place.

The researchers find that employees who move from high to low exposure to positive leadership behaviour later experience more depressive symptoms. 

Conversely, employees who move from low to high leadership quality experience fewer symptoms. However, the study does not find a clear link between changes in leadership quality and subsequent use of antidepressant medication.

More serious than low job satisfaction

According to Johan Simonsen Abildgaard, it is important to understand that the research findings go beyond general job dissatisfaction.

Depressive symptoms are a more serious measure than low job satisfaction and general distress. In the study, they are measured using a clinically validated depression scale, the Major Depression Inventory, which is used to assess symptoms of depression. At the same time, the point is not that poor leadership in itself directly leads employees into severe clinical illness.

In other words, the study does not simply show that employees become less satisfied at work. It points to changes in symptoms that are closer to actual mental strain and therefore say more about employees’ mental health than traditional measures of well-being and job satisfaction.

A clear association

According to the researchers, this is the first study to examine whether changes in leadership behaviour are linked to changes in depressive symptoms over time.

“There is a clear strength in this longitudinal perspective. It is not just a statistically significant association, it is also clinically relevant,” says Johan Simonsen Abildgaard.

The study does not directly prove cause and effect in a laboratory sense, however, because the researchers follow employees over time, rely on large Danish datasets and measure changes in leadership before changes in symptoms, the association is considered clear.

An argument for taking leadership seriously

For Johan Simonsen Abildgaard, the study highlights that leadership should play a larger role in efforts to improve the psychosocial work environment.

“Leadership quality is just one factor, but it is very important.  Leadership is also linked to how tasks are distributed, how peak workloads are handled, and whether employees experience support, fairness and trust in their daily work,” he says.

The study therefore gives workplaces a more concrete reason to focus on sound leadership, not only because it can enhance well-being and job satisfaction, but because it can have a real impact on employees’ mental health.