Hello Community,

Managers sit at the center of workplace wellbeing, yet they are one of the groups struggling the most.

Last year, Gallup alerted that the drop in engagement is driven by managers (-9 points since 2022), the group that reports higher levels of stress, burnout, and difficulty disconnecting from work. Managers drive up to 70% of team engagement and shape how work is experienced every day.

This creates a clear tension. Managers are expected to support their teams’ wellbeing while operating under increasing workloads, broader spans of control, and constant pressure to deliver results.

So the question becomes: How do we help managers navigate this reality while enabling them to create healthier, more sustainable team environments?

In this edition, we explore a practical model for understanding this tension and break down the daily actions managers can take to reduce pressure, improve clarity, and support well-being in how work gets done.

🗞️ In case you missed it: In preparation for our May Summit, we are hosting a free webinar you don’t want to miss, "Embedding Mental Health across the Employee Journey," featuring two experts in the field: Lisa Jackson and Michael Davis. Save the date: April 14, 2026 - ⏰ 08:00 AM PT. ➡️ Register here.

Let’s start with why managers sit at the center of this challenge.

Managers shape how work is experienced every day while operating under the same pressures as their teams. Research shows they are among the groups at highest risk of burnout while also managing workload, priorities, and team dynamics.

A useful way to understand this tension is through the balance between job demands and job resources. This model is based on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) framework, which explains how work conditions drive burnout, disengagement, and performance. It focuses on two factors:

When demands exceed resources, pressure builds, and the risk of burnout increases. When both are present at the right level, teams can sustain performance over time.

The matrix translates this into four common work states: burnout, disengagement, comfort, and growth, depending on how demands and resources interact.

Understanding the model is a good starting point. But it’s also important for managers to be aware of how they shape it, because, at the end of the day, their actions determine how demands and resources are balanced across their teams.

1. Managing Workload and Pace: Managers decide how work is distributed and how fast teams are expected to move. When they clarify priorities and sequence work, teams avoid constant overload. To do this well, managers need realistic expectations, manageable spans of control, and alignment from leadership on what truly matters.

2. Creating Control and Autonomy: Managers influence how much flexibility employees have in their work. Allowing space for decision-making improves engagement and ownership. For this to happen, managers need trust from senior leaders and clear guardrails that support autonomy without increasing risk.

3. Providing Clarity and Direction: Managers translate strategy into daily priorities. Clear direction reduces confusion and prevents unnecessary stress across teams. Managers need access to clear organizational priorities so they can avoid passing ambiguity down to their teams.

4. Encouraging Strengths and Skills Use: Managers play a key role in helping employees use their skills in meaningful ways. When people can apply their strengths, they are more engaged, productive, and resilient. This requires managers to understand individual capabilities and align work accordingly. Managers need visibility into team skills and the flexibility to assign work based on strengths, not only roles.

5. Offering Support and Recognition: Managers reinforce effort, provide feedback, and connect employees to available resources. These actions strengthen motivation and reinforce progress. Managers need time, tools, and simple frameworks to have these conversations consistently.

6. Building Psychological Safety in Teams: Managers shape whether employees feel comfortable speaking up, raising concerns, and sharing ideas. This directly impacts trust and performance. To build this environment, managers need training, peer support, and space to practice these behaviors.

Managers influence wellbeing through daily decisions, but they cannot carry this responsibility alone. When organizations invest in manager support, they improve both manager wellbeing and team outcomes.

This starts with simple, repeatable actions managers can apply every day, from how they check in with their teams to how they structure work and communicate priorities. To make this actionable, we’ve created something you can use immediately:

👉 Download the Manager Checklist to strengthen wellbeing every day

This topic will be at the center of our upcoming summit…

📅 May 5–7, 2026 - 07:00 AM - 11:25 AM Pacific Time | 💻 Virtual & Free

Wellbeing is becoming a defining factor in how organizations sustain performance, manage risk, and lead effectively at scale.

The Workplace Wellbeing and Mental Health Summit will bring together HR and business leaders to explore how work design, manager capability, and leadership practices shape everyday well-being. These are some of the topics we will discuss:

📜 All attendees who participate live or watch the post-event recordings may download a certificate of participation.

👑 Premium members of our community gain a Credly badge and HR Credits (13.5 SHRMs + 13.5 HRCIs + 13.5 IHRMs)

🌟 JOIN US! ➡️ Explore the agenda and save your spot

If you’re looking to build these capabilities more systematically, here’s where to start.

Explore all the Learning Programs

🌐 Beyond structured learning, have you thought about joining a Hacking HR Chapter or a Learning Pod to network and learn from peers? Tomorrow, we will unpack all you need to know!

Hacking HR proudly calls itself a global community. From its first gatherings back in 2018, our goal has always been and continues to be building a network of people leaders, HR professionals, and changemakers collaborating to advance the HR profession, build better workplaces, and a better world for all.

Our Hacking HR Communities form a global ecosystem that includes local and virtual avenues for you to connect, learn, and co-create:

Tomorrow, April 9, at 08:00 AM Pacific Time, we will host an Open House to explain everything about Hacking HR Communities and all the avenues for you to participate.

👉 Join us! ➡️ Register here

😊 And if you want to take a more active role in shaping the future of HR…

📢 Yes, because we have a New Faculty Call!

We did a call for faculty earlier this year, but it’s time for another round because our brand-new programs are now open for applications!

We are looking for experts to lead our Live 9-Week Certificate Programs and our elite Mini-Master Degrees. This is your chance to mentor global HR talent and join a world-class faculty of industry disruptors. We have open slots across these incredible programs:

⚡ Ready to lead the conversation? If you have the expertise and the passion to teach, we want to hear from you!

➡️ Please fill out our Faculty Interest Form here.

We will be in touch via email if we think there is a match!

Don’t miss these upcoming partner events! And hurry up to save your seat at the AI Experience Summit!

The world of work is running at full speed, but progress now depends less on acceleration and more on direction. iSpring Days 2026 brings together global L&D and HR leaders to chart a new course for training in uncertain times. 

It’s designed for those who want to translate learning investments into performance outcomes, influence strategic decisions, and build credibility at the executive level.

Over two days and across five focused tracks, you’ll learn how to:

Expect real-world case studies, insights from L&D innovators, and actionable guidance you can apply immediately to drive measurable business impact.

➡️ Learn more and save your spot

If you’re looking to build these capabilities more deeply, here’s where to start.

This year, the third edition of the AI Experience Summit will be LIVE and VIRTUAL!

Through our partnership with People Strategy Hub, we will host a high-intensity day of 30–40 minute sessions covering AI Leadership, Readiness, Governance, Work Design, Trust, and Responsible Scaling, with speakers from Microsoft, Imperial Brands, Moody's, and more.

Sessions span everything from leadership in the age of intelligent systems and diagnosing readiness gaps to agentic workflows, accountability in AI-augmented work, and proving measurable ROI in 2026.

Our Community members get important discounts:

Team registrations are available. Reply to this email, and we'll take care of you.

🌟 Use our 50% discount code (valid only until the end of March): HACKINGHRSPECIAL

Registration is open for Hacking HR’s AI in HR Experience Summit Virtual (June 17–19, 2026) — 100% virtual, 100% FREE.

Over three days, each focused on a single theme, dozens of experts will join us to discuss the most pressing challenges at the intersection of people, culture, and AI-powered technologies.

Somewhere along the way, we lost alignment on the objective.

But technically… It’s learning. ☕ For anyone currently “training” their AI…

👉 Visit our store

Finally, if your organization wants to connect directly with HR decision-makers, our upcoming summits offer unique opportunities to engage with the global Hacking HR community.

Thousands of HR executives will gather at these upcoming summits in 2026 to shape the future of work:

If your company provides solutions in HR tech, benefits, people analytics, DEI, or workforce strategy, these events are your opportunity to connect with the exact decision-makers who control HR budgets and are actively searching for partners.

👉 Book an Intro Call with Laurie Baggarly: [email protected] to explore sponsorships and secure visibility at the summits where HR leaders are making buying decisions.