Things Leaders Do

Leadership in the Age of Mental Health Awareness

• Colby Morris

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Your top performer just quit without a backup plan. They're driving Uber while they figure out their next move. Why? Because the pain of staying became greater than the pain of change.

In 2025, 35% of Gen Z workers will quit without another job lined up, and 1 in 4 employees have considered quitting due to mental health concerns. The gig economy changed everything—your people have options now, and being a "nice boss" isn't enough.

Host Colby Morris reveals the critical difference between bosses who lose people and people-first leaders who retain them through the contrasting stories of David (who lost his top performer despite "checking in") and Marcus (who spotted real struggles because he actually knew his team).

You'll discover:

  • The three warning signs employees are struggling—and why you can only spot them if you know your people
  • A four-step conversation framework for addressing mental health without overstepping
  • Why "Are you okay?" fails and what to ask instead
  • The business case: workplaces prioritizing mental health see 13% higher productivity

The truth: Being nice doesn't equal being connected. People-first leaders know their people well enough to recognize when "I'm fine" isn't true.


Key Questions This Episode Answers:

  • How do I support employee mental health without being invasive?
  • What are the warning signs of burnout and mental health struggles?
  • How has the gig economy changed leadership dynamics in 2025?
  • What's the difference between a boss and a people-first leader?
  • How do I have mental health conversations without crossing boundaries?
  • What can leaders do versus what requires professional help?
  • Why do employees quit without backup plans and what does it mean for me?


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Connect with Colby Morris

Keynote speaking, coaching, and training: nxtstepadvisors.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colbymorris


About Things Leaders Do

Practical, people-first leadership strategies for managers who want real results. Host Colby Morris shares insights from his executive coaching practice to help you build stronger teams and create workplaces where people actually want to stay.


SPEAKER_00:

People first leadership. Actionable strategies, real results. This is Things Leaders Do with Colby Morris.

SPEAKER_01:

Your top performer just quit. No job lined up, no backup plan. They're driving for Uber while they figure out their next move. And you're sitting there thinking, why would anybody leave a stable job without something else lined up? That's financial insanity, right? But here's what you're missing. For them, the pain of staying with you became greater than the pain of change. Even with all that financial uncertainty. There's a quote that goes something like, Change happens when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change. Yeah, that's exactly what's happening with your team, right? Welcome to leadership in 2025, where the gig economy has completely flipped the power dynamic between leaders and their teams, where people will literally take on financial risk rather than stay in a workplace that's destroying their mental health. Hey leaders, this is Colby Morris, and this is Things Leaders Do. Today we're talking about something that's costing organizations billions of dollars and driving away their best people. And most leaders, they have no idea they're the problem. Let me paint you a picture of what's happening right now. We've got some statistics that should wake you up. One in four employees, that's 25% of your workforce, have considered quitting their jobs because of mental health concerns. And 7% of those, they actually did quit because of it. Here's one that really floors me, though. Nearly half of employees say life was easier during COVID-19 than it is right now in 2025. Think about that for a second. The pandemic, with all its chaos and uncertainty and everything we went through, employees are saying that felt easier than what we're dealing with today. Here's why this matters for you as a leader. 35% of Gen Z workers would leave their current job even without another job lined up. They'll drive for DoorDash. They'll do Uber, Uber Eats, they'll pick up gig work, they'll figure it out. Because the gig economy gave them options that just didn't exist 10 years ago. Pre-COVID, if you wanted to leave a job, you better have something else lined up first. But now they've got a safety net made of gig work, and that changes absolutely everything about how you need to lead. So here's where most leaders are getting this completely wrong. They think being nice equals supporting mental health. They say things like, My door is always open, and we care about work-life balance, or we have an EAP program. And then they sit there wondering why people are still burning out and quitting. Let me tell you about two leaders I want you to picture. We'll call them David and Marcus. David is a boss. Marcus is a people first leader. And the difference? It's not about being nice. Both of them are nice people. David manages the marketing team. Lately, he's noticed that one of his top team members, Rachel, well, she's been, I don't know, off. She missed some meetings, and her slack responses are pretty short, almost terse. Her last project left a lot to be desired, and certainly not what she usually produces. And Dave, being a nice guy, sends her a message. Hey Rachel, just checking in, you okay? Rachel responds with, Yeah, I'm fine, just got a lot going on. Thanks for checking in. And so David moves on. I mean, he asked, and she's fine, right? So he just went back to focusing on work. He was being nice. He checked in three weeks later, Rachel gave her two weeks' notice. She didn't even have another job lined up. She just decided to freelance for a while and figure it out as she goes. David was caught completely off guard. Now let's look at Marcus. Marcus has a team member named James who's showing the same exact signs. Withdrawal, shorter responses, work quality slipping just a bit. But here's the difference. Marcus knows James, like, really knows him. Like, he knows James is usually the first one to jump into Slack conversations. He knows James takes real pride in his work and rarely turns in anything that needs revision. He knows James is an early riser who does his best work before 10 a.m. So when Marcus notices these changes, he doesn't just fire off a quick Slack message. He schedules a one-on-one. Not the regular weekly one-on-one, an additional one. And he doesn't start with, are you okay? He starts with what he's actually observed. Hey James, I notice you've been quieter in team discussions lately, and you missed our Monday stand-up last week. That's not like you. What's going on, man? James gives the same response Rachel did. I'm fine, just a lot going on. But Marcus, he knows that's not the whole story. Because he knows James. He digs a little deeper, but carefully. I hear you saying you're fine, but the patterns I'm seeing don't really match the James I know. You don't have to tell me everything that's going on, but I want you to know I'm here if work is contributing to whatever you're dealing with. And that's it. No prying into his personal business, no trying to play therapist, just acknowledging that something's different and creating space for an honest conversation. James paused. And then he opened up just enough. Honestly, I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed. The workload has been really intense, and I'm having trouble disconnecting after work. Now, Marcus has something he can actually work with. Not because he forced it out of James, but because he knew his person well enough to recognize when I'm fine wasn't true. Let me give you three signs that someone on your team is struggling with in their mental health. And here's the key: you you can only spot these if you actually know your people. Sign number one, withdraw. They used to engage in team discussions and now they're silent. They don't. They used to volunteer for projects. Now they're just doing the minimum. They used to be present. Now they're just there. Sign two, anger or irritability. Small things that never bothered them before suddenly trigger big reactions. They're short with teammates. They're defensive about feedback. Their emotional regulation is just off. And sign three is isolation. They used to grab lunch with a team. Now they eat alone. They used to join the virtual happy hours. Now they're always busy. They're pulling back from connection. Now here's what separates a boss from a people first leader. A boss sees these signs and thinks, performance problem. A people first leader sees these signs and thinks, my person is struggling. Same behaviors, completely different response. All right, so how do you actually have these conversations without crossing the line into being invasive or inappropriate? Here's the framework I teach leaders. Step one, observe and name what you see. It's then like, you know, I've noticed you've been quieter in meetings lately. I've seen you're working later than usual. Your work is still good, but it seems like it's taking more effort than it used to. Step two, ask an open question. Not are you okay? Because that's too easy to deflect. Try, well, what's driving that? Or help me understand what's changed. Or what can I do to support you better right now? And step three, create space, don't force entry. This is where people first leaders know when to stop digging. Look, you're not their therapist, okay? You're not their parent, you're their leader. Your job is to just create an environment where they can be honest, okay, not to extract their their personal story. If they open up, great. Listen without judgment. But if they don't, that's okay too. You've signaled to them that you see them and that you care and that matter. And then step four, focus on what you can control. You can't fix their personal problems, but you can adjust the workload. You can encourage them to use their PTO. You can connect them with resources like your EAP. You can be flexible about their hours or location. Here's what this sounds like in practice. James, I obviously can't fix what's going on in your personal life, and you don't have to tell me about it. But what I can do is look at your workload and see if there's anything that we can shift. Would that help? That's people first leadership. You're not trying to be their savior. You're trying to remove barriers that are within your control. Now, some of you are thinking, that sounds nice, Colby, but I have a business to run. I can't be everyone's emotional support system. You're right, you can't be. But here's what you need to understand: ignoring mental health is costing you way more than addressing it would. Their employees are 2.3 times less likely to report feeling stressed, and they have 2.6 times higher likelihood of reduced absenteeism. On the flip side, yeah. Employees with unresolved depression experience a 35% drop in productivity. You want me to say that one again? A 35% drop in productivity? That's costing organizations about$210 billion. Not million,$210 billion annually in lost productivity. Centiism, medical expenses. And here's the kicker: 62% of employees are disengaged at work right now. That's leading to an$8.8 trillion with a T in global productivity loss every year. You know it's cheaper than all that? Actually annoying your people and creating an environment where they feel safe being honest about their struggles. But here's why most leaders aren't getting this right. Trust. Or the lack of it. 42% of employees worry that their career would be negatively impacted if they talked about mental health concerns at work. Think about that. Nearly half your team thinks being honest about their mental health could hurt their career. And let's be honest, they're probably right in a lot of workplaces because there are leaders out there who see mental health struggles as weakness, who see someone taking a mental health day as, you know, slacking off, who see therapy as something people do when they can't handle normal stress. Those are bosses, not leaders. People first leaders create psychological safety. And psychological safety doesn't mean everyone's comfortable all the time. It means people can be honest about their struggles without fear of punishment or judgment. You want to know why only 13% of employees told their managers that their mental health was suffering due to work demands? Because 87% of them didn't trust their leader enough to have that conversation. That's not a mental health problem. It's a leadership problem. Let me give you some practical examples of what people first leadership looks like when it comes to mental health. First, it's noticing patterns. Not just one bad day, but trends over time. Not just missing one deadline, but a shift in someone's normal performance over the weeks. It's regular one-on-ones where you ask about the person, not just the project. Where how are you doing? It's a genuine question, not a pleasantry before you dive into business. It's flexibility when it matters. When someone says they need to start later because they have a therapy appointment, you don't make them feel guilty about it. When someone needs to work from home more often for a few weeks, you trust them and manage their work. It's modeling healthy behavior. What does that mean? Well, it means you take your PTO, you disconnect after hours, you talk openly about the importance of mental health because your team is watching what you do, not just hearing what you say. And it's knowing your limits. Again, you're not a therapist. You're not trying to diagnose or treat mental health conditions, but you can be a human who cares about another human. That's not overstepping. That's just being a decent person. Remember Marcus and James from earlier? Here's what happened after that conversation. Marcus didn't try to fix James' life, but he did three specific things. First, he looked at James' workload and realized James had been assigned three major projects simultaneously because he was so reliable. So Marcus redistributed one of those projects to another team member who had the capacity. Second, he encouraged James to actually use his PTO. Not in a you should take a vacation kind of way, but hey, I'm blocking off three days on your calendar right now, and I want you to fully disconnect. That kind of way. Third, he followed up. Not every day, not in a you know a hovering kind of way, but in their next one-on-one, he simply asked, How are things feeling compared when we talked a few weeks ago? That's it. No grand gestures, not trying to be the hero, just practical support. Genuine follow through. James is still on Marcus's team two years later. When Rachel left David's team, three other people followed her out the door within six months. You know why? Because word spreads. Your team talks to each other. They know who the people first leaders are and who the bosses are. So here's your assignment for this week. And it's simple, but it's hard. I want you to really observe your team. Not their work output. Them. Who's showing up differently than they used to? Who's quieter? Who's who's more irritable? Who's isolated themselves? And then, and this is the hard part, I want you to have one conversation with one person who you've noticed has changed. And use that framework. Observe and name what you see. Ask an open question. Okay, create space without forcing entry. Just focus on what you can control. Just one conversation. Not trying to save the world, not trying to connect with one human who happens to work for you. It's people first leadership. It's not complicated, but it does require you to actually pay attention to your people as people, not as productivity machines. Look, we're in a mental health crisis. The statistics are staggering. The business impact is massive. And the human costs is devastating. But here's what I need you to understand. You can't solve this by just being nice. You can't solve this by having better benefits. You can't solve this by putting a mental health poster in the break room. You solve this actually knowing your people. By creating an environment where honesty doesn't come with consequences. By recognizing that your job as a leader isn't just to get work done, it's to create conditions where people can do their best work without destroying their mental health in the process. Gig economy changed everything. Your people have options now. They can leave. And if staying with you means sacrificing their mental health, they will leave. Even without a backup plan. Because sometimes the unknown feels safer than the question is, are you going to be the kind of leader people run from or the kind of leader people want to stay with even when things get hard? If your organization needs help creating a culture that actually supports mental health, not just talks about it, hey, I'd love to help. I work with leaders and teams through keynote speaking, executive coaching, leadership training to build people first cultures that drive real results. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or visit my website at Nextepadvisors.com. No E, just NXT, next stepadvisors.com. And hey, if this episode resonated with you, would you do me a favor? Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review. And share this episode with another leader who needs to hear it. That's how we grow this community and how we get the word out to make a bigger impact on the workplace. Because the more leaders who get this stuff right, the better workplaces become for everyone. And remember, keep leading people, not just managing their output. Okay. Creating safety instead of just being nice and knowing your team well enough to recognize when I'm fine isn't fine. And you know why? Because those are the things that leaders do.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do. If you're looking for more tips on how to be a better leader, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and listen to next week's episode. Until next time, keep working on being a better leader by doing the things that leaders do.