Mental health is a constant topic of discussion within HR because it remains a constant threat.

While more organizations are introducing mental health benefits and policies, it’s often on the managers’ shoulders to carry out, model, and promote well-being, even though managers are also at risk of burnout. According to a 2024 survey report from The Predictive Index and HR Dive’s studioID, nearly one in four people managers identify the risk of burnout as a significant challenge to their success.

Employers who truly care about promoting a healthy workplace culture must figure out how to supply people managers with tools to support their mental well-being and become more “human-centric managers.” (After all, one of the biggest influences on mental health at work is one’s manager, even more than one’s therapist.)

One underrated way to support leaders’ well-being is with access to behavioral analytics, a tool for better understanding employees’ behavioral tendencies, styles, preferences, and strengths. As Dana Pollet, PhD, the manager of product science at The Predictive Index (PI), explains, “The information gleaned from behavioral analytics helps build stronger, more positive, and more effective working relationships.”

Discover how access to analytics like these can help you reduce mental health threats and build healthier teams.

How to bolster team mental health with behavioral analytics

1. Build collaborative teams

Collaboration is in high demand, with “teamwork” being one of 2024’s top desired skills. And it’s no wonder, given that Mental Health America explains how effective teamwork can decrease stress and make workloads more manageable. The problem is that many leaders lack the insights necessary to build teams with complementary skills and character traits to avoid tension and promote collaboration.

According to the survey, nearly a quarter of organizations don’t understand the value of behavioral data when building teams. Without this data, HR teams and managers are left guessing while expanding teams and sourcing candidates, which could lead to poor team dynamics.

Meanwhile, having access to behavioral insights into team members enables managers to improve job fit by matching candidates with roles they’re more likely to thrive in and teams they’re more likely to thrive with.

“Every job has a set of behavioral requirements,” Dr. Pollet explains. “And when managers understand the behaviors linked to strong performance in the role, they can utilize behavioral analytics to find candidates most likely to succeed.”

2. Tackle team conflict

It’s no secret that team conflict negatively impacts teams, but it can also damage individual well-being. Studies show that conflict at work can lead to depressive moods and decreased productivity due to stress, anxiety and depression.

Unfortunately, many leaders are unprepared for friction. Over one-third of middle managers say they lack the resources to address team conflicts. Even if managers have conflict resolution training, many resources are only temporary solutions because they don’t address the source of the issues.

Conversely, behavioral analytics can help managers resolve conflict. By comparing behavioral profiles of peers and obtaining personalized recommendations, managers can effectively keep conflict at bay—while building trust and improving teamwork.  

“When managers understand the behavioral drives or tendencies of two employees experiencing conflict, they are better positioned to discuss why the conflict may have occurred, help them process the incident, and come to an understanding,” Dr. Pollet explains. (For example, it could help explain that while one employee, “Taylor,” thought their co-worker “Alex” was being short, “Alex” believes they were being efficient.)

‍

Read full article here