CHROs: 3 ways to help top executives prioritize recovery  

1. Let the body do the talking

Most dialogue around recovery is about its connection to positive effects such as happiness, but framing the approach to recovery in this way may not convince work-driven individuals to prioritize it. Instead, it may be more impactful to highlight benefits to overall mental health, including emotional, physical, and cognitive functioning.

Monitoring an individual’s functioning at these three levels by measuring both the subjective experience and objective indicators of well-being (such as heart rate and brain activation) contributes to a more holistic view of mental health and well-being in the workplace.

2. Take away the guilt

Business executives and managers are more likely than other workers to be highly engaged and connected to their organization, but they also experience more stress and other negative emotions related to work, and are likely to experience feelings of frustration, shame, or guilt whenever they take a break. Your job is to free them from this “recovery guilt.” Emphasizing the effectiveness of microbreaks is crucial here.

Executives can embed them into their daily routines, combating exhaustion in a practical, sustainable way, rather than to simply “grin and bear it” until their next stretch of annual leave. The same principle works for holidays: on some measures, short breaks can be more restorative than longer vacations. Longer breaks are necessary, but a mixture of long and shorter breaks will provide the most effective year-round recovery.

Executives must be allowed to accept that running down their reserves or engaging in unsuitable passive recovery activities, because they can’t face going for a run, for example, is counterproductive.

3. Promote health-oriented leadership

Leaders are role models. The more they prioritize their own well-being, the greater their positive influence on the wider workforce. Such health-oriented leadership has been proven to boost employee well-being by minimizing workplace conflict, reducing job insecurity, and improving working conditions.