When leadership makes you ill

Toxic leadership is one of the biggest, but often overlooked, risk factors for mental health in the workplace. Our colleague Sven Briesemeister is not only familiar with this phenomenon from counselling, but also from his time as a psychotherapist in a rehabilitation clinic:
The majority of burnout patients were not primarily triggered by overwork - but by the behaviour of their superiors. Humiliation, arbitrariness and emotional coldness left deeper scars than pure workload.

Scientific evidence

Empirical research emphasises the serious consequences of destructive leadership:

• Carleton et al (2016) analysed the long-term consequences of abusive leadership in the NBA:
  • Long-term loss of performance among players
  • Increase in aggressive behaviour - even years later
• Pletzer et al. (2023) showed in a meta-analysis:
  • Significant correlation between destructive leadership, higher burnout rate and declining motivation
  • Lasting impairment of performance

Conclusion: The damage is systemic, long-term - and affects both people and companies.

The role of psychological safety

Toxic leadership is the opposite of psychological safety - one of the most effective protective factors against burnout and demotivation.

As we show in our article Psychological safety at work, employees in a safe working environment are more likely to feel encouraged to address problems, take risks and discuss mistakes openly.
Gallup data (2023) proves this: Those who feel supported by their employer are 71% less likely to experience burnout and three times more engaged.

On the other hand, a lack of psychological safety - as a result of toxic leadership - reinforces phenomena such as the floating duck syndrome: employees appear confident on the outside, but struggle internally with overload and isolation. Without a culture of openness, this often leads to exhaustion, anxiety and a drop in performance.

Protection strategies for those affected

1. set boundaries & document

• Record incidents precisely (place, time, statements)
• Formulate clear, respectful expectations

2. use networks

• Seek dialogue with colleagues, avoid isolation
• Use the support of the works council or psychological counselling

3. prioritise self-care

• Separate work and recovery phases consistently
• Take early warning signs (sleep problems, irritability) seriously

When leadership makes you ill

Toxic leadership is one of the biggest, but often overlooked, risk factors for mental health in the workplace. Our colleague Sven Briesemeister is not only familiar with this phenomenon from counselling, but also from his time as a psychotherapist in a rehabilitation clinic:
The majority of burnout patients were not primarily triggered by overwork - but by the behaviour of their superiors. Humiliation, arbitrariness and emotional coldness left deeper scars than pure workload.

Scientific evidence

Empirical research emphasises the serious consequences of destructive leadership:

• Carleton et al (2016) analysed the long-term consequences of abusive leadership in the NBA:
  • Long-term loss of performance among players
  • Increase in aggressive behaviour - even years later
• Pletzer et al. (2023) showed in a meta-analysis:
  • Significant correlation between destructive leadership, higher burnout rate and declining motivation
  • Lasting impairment of performance

Conclusion: The damage is systemic, long-term - and affects both people and companies.

The role of psychological safety

Toxic leadership is the opposite of psychological safety - one of the most effective protective factors against burnout and demotivation.

As we show in our article Psychological safety at work, employees in a safe working environment are more likely to feel encouraged to address problems, take risks and discuss mistakes openly.
Gallup data (2023) proves this: Those who feel supported by their employer are 71% less likely to experience burnout and three times more engaged.

On the other hand, a lack of psychological safety - as a result of toxic leadership - reinforces phenomena such as the floating duck syndrome: employees appear confident on the outside, but struggle internally with overload and isolation. Without a culture of openness, this often leads to exhaustion, anxiety and a drop in performance.

Protection strategies for those affected

1. set boundaries & document

• Record incidents precisely (place, time, statements)
• Formulate clear, respectful expectations

2. use networks

• Seek dialogue with colleagues, avoid isolation
• Use the support of the works council or psychological counselling

3. prioritise self-care

• Separate work and recovery phases consistently
• Take early warning signs (sleep problems, irritability) seriously

Toxic leadership is not just individual misbehaviour, but often a symptom of structural deficits in the selection, development and management of leadership. If you want to take sustainable countermeasures, you have to start at several levels.

1. diagnosis: recognise early instead of reacting late

• Regular pulse surveys with targeted questions on respect, fairness and feedback quality
• Systematic exit interview analyses with a leadership focus
• Anonymous complaints channels for management issues
• Mandatory 360° feedback as a KPI in leadership reporting

2nd selection: Selecting leadership according to attitude and impact

• Leadership profiles with clearly defined behavioural standards
• Multi-stage selection process incl. behaviour-based interviews and psychometric tests
• Mandatoryprobationary period feedback from teams
• "No promotion without people review" as a principle

3. development: consciously shaping leadership culture

• Compulsory training on empathetic communication and conflict resolution
• Shadowing programmes with positive role models
• Peer coaching circles for reflection and learning
• Integration of psychological safety in leadership programmes

4. management & accountability

• Leadership KPIs (engagement, staff turnover, talent development) into target systems
• Annual leadership reviews with top management
• Binding development plans in the event of anomalies
• Consequences for repeated offences, regardless of professional performance

5. set cultural anchors

• Make positive examples visible
• "Failure culture days" or blameless post mortems Establish
• Managers as role models in openness and a culture of learning from mistakes
• Interlocking with corporate values - toxic behaviour as a violation of values

6. support systems for employees

• Confidants and ombudspersons
• Low-threshold psychological counselling
• Mentoring programmes for protection and development

7 Governance & compliance

• Binding leadership standards in the Code of Conduct
• Equating leadership offences with compliance violations
• External culture audits in transformation phases

Economic relevance

According to Gallup 2024 and DAK Psych-Report 2024, toxic leadership causes German companies to lose billions every year - through sick leave, staff turnover and productivity losses.
This is not an "HR issue" - it is a strategic and economic imperative.

Conclusion

If you want to reduce the risk of burnout and ensure long-term performance, you need to identify toxic leadership , draw consequences and actively promote psychological safety. This protects people - and at the same time strengthens innovation, loyalty and resilience.

Next Steps: Recognising toxic leadership and taking preventive action

Establish early warning systems: How often is destructive leadership discussed in your company - both in the form of anonymous surveys and in open discussions?

Start small: Start with regular 360° feedback and anonymous pulse checks to identify signs of toxic leadership behaviour at an early stage.

Leadership starts with yourself: Psychological safety and a healthy error culture only arise when managers show their own vulnerability and consistently work on themselves - otherwise it remains just theory.