Who’s Taking Care of the Boss?

Over the last few months, my team at Willingness and I have had the opportunity to explore a question that’s been lingering in the background of boardrooms, HR offices, and clinic sessions for years. Who is taking care of the boss? As therapists, psychologists, business leaders, and fellow humans, we’ve seen the toll leadership can take, especially in Malta’s private sector. So, we decided to look into it more closely. What followed was a study that merged data collection with lived experience. And the results were eye-opening.

Understanding the Psychology of a Leader

• Let’s start with what kind of person typically becomes a leader. When we look at the data and psychological profiles, we find a consistent pattern. Leaders often score high on traits like conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness to experience. They tend to have a strong internal locus of control, believe deeply in their ability to get things done, and have a high need for achievement. These are the people who pick themselves up after setbacks and try again. They’re creative, resilient, and solution-focused.

• But here’s where it gets interesting. These same traits that make someone a good leader can also become their biggest vulnerabilities. When you expect excellence from yourself at all times, it’s easy to fall into the trap of overworking. Confidence can become isolation—because asking for help might feel like failure. Independence might mean fewer check-ins with your own team. Before you know it, a successful leader is quietly burning out, surrounded by people yet completely alone.

The Hidden Cost of Leadership

• We know that burnout isn’t exclusive to employees, but the conversation often stops there. Our study showed that 54% of managers reported experiencing symptoms of burnout, and 30% of employees noticed that their leaders were visibly stressed. Those numbers matter. They point to a silent epidemic among the very people who are expected to hold everything together.
• This isn’t just a personal issue. It’s an economic one. In Malta, over 150,000 people are employed by SMEs. When leaders struggle, teams suffer. When teams are demotivated, productivity drops. When productivity drops, businesses risk losing clients, talent, and ultimately their ability to thrive. Investing in leadership wellbeing is not a luxury. It’s a strategic imperative.

What Employers and Employees Told Us

• We conducted focus groups, ran surveys, and spoke to both employees and employers across various sectors. One of the clearest takeaways was that both groups actually want the same things—better communication, mutual respect, recognition, and balance. But they’re not hearing each other clearly.
• Employees told us they want more feedback, clearer direction, and to feel valued. Employers, on the other hand, felt they were underappreciated, under pressure to offer unsustainable salaries, and that employees weren’t always open to change or willing to give constructive feedback. Both sides want trust. Both sides want stability. But there’s a gap in how these things are expressed and perceived.
• One employer put it plainly: “We’re training people for their next job.” Another said, “They tell me everything’s great, then they leave two weeks later for the gaming industry.” These aren’t complaints from disconnected bosses. They’re reflections from people trying to navigate complex realities—staff retention, financial pressures, and changing employee expectations.

Leadership in Malta: A Unique Landscape

• The Maltese context adds a few layers. Our businesses are often small to medium-sized. Resources are limited. Managers wear many hats. Unlike larger organisations abroad that have support systems and delegation structures, many of our leaders are involved in operations, HR, client care, and strategy—all at once.
• Our study found that managers in medium-sized companies (50–249 staff) reported the highest levels of stress, with 90% saying their workload was “high”. Interestingly, managers in larger companies (250+ employees) also reported high stress, but were more likely to describe their workload as manageable. This might reflect the reality that bigger firms have more systems and support, while medium-sized businesses are caught in a tough middle ground.
• Confidence was high among all the leaders we surveyed. In fact, not one respondent rated their leadership ability below average. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does raise the question—how many are pushing through stress because they believe they should be able to handle it?

What We Recommend

• Our findings pointed to a number of actionable solutions, many of which we’ve already started implementing within our own teams at Willingness.

Build Two-Way Communication Channels

• Leaders need feedback just as much as employees. Town halls, anonymous suggestion tools, and open-door policies go a long way. Managers should also be trained to ask for feedback and respond without defensiveness.

Recognise and Appreciate Often

• Recognition is a key driver of motivation. This applies to both employees and leaders. Public and private praise, peer shout-outs, and even simple thank-yous can shift the culture. Many employers in our study reported feeling just as underappreciated as their staff.

Train in Mental Health and Emotional Intelligence

• This is critical. Only 18% of employees felt their managers were equipped to support them with mental health issues. And yet, 28–36% of managers said they wanted more training in these areas. There’s a willingness—now we need to act on it.

Model Balance from the Top

• It’s not enough to talk about work-life balance. Leaders need to live it. That means setting boundaries, using leave, and encouraging teams to disconnect. When managers lead by example, it gives permission for the rest of the team to do the same.

Make Career Growth Transparent

• Employees often feel stuck, and managers feel misunderstood. Clear pathways for advancement, open conversations about goals, and realistic expectations help reduce frustration on both sides.

Foster Team Cohesion

• Human connection remains the strongest antidote to stress. Team-building activities, mentorship across levels, and shared goals remind everyone—bosses included—that they’re part of something bigger than themselves.

Final Thoughts

• This project gave me a deeper understanding of the invisible burdens many leaders carry. It also reminded me that solutions aren’t always complicated. Sometimes, it’s about sitting down and listening. Sometimes it’s about saying, “I don’t have it all figured out either.”
• As someone who leads teams and works closely with business owners, I see both sides of the coin. I see the overworked manager who wants to do right by their staff. I see the employee who just wants to be heard. I see the small business owner who worries they can’t match the benefits of a bigger company. And I also see the resilience, the innovation, the deep care for people that drives most of our workplaces in Malta.
• Leaders are human. And it’s time we created systems that reflect that truth.