CEO Mental Health Discourse and Stakeholder Responses to Perceptions of CEO Humanness and Authenticity

Abstract

Mental health is a challenge that is both detrimental to the health of individuals and costly for organizations and economies. CEOs are opening mental health conversations in the workplace by championing mental health initiatives or sharing their own experiences. However, we know little about the effectiveness of this discourse and reactions of its audience.

My dissertation builds an understanding of how mental health discourse and personal disclosures by CEOs affects two key stakeholders – employees and investors. I also explore the roles perceptions of humanness and authentic leadership of a CEO play in this relationship. I use a 3 x 2 experimental vignette design (N = 1013) and apply ordinary least squares regression, path analysis, and structural equation modeling to analyze the proposed relationships. Findings indicate that investors react positively to CEOs talking about mental health initiatives. My findings also reveal that perceived authentic leadership of a CEO plays a mediating role in the relationship between CEO mental health discourse and employees’ organizational commitment. Perceived humanness and authentic leadership of a CEO play a mediating role in the relationship between CEO mental health discourse and positive investor responses.

My dissertation also sheds light on the too-much-of-a-good-thing effect, and that the perceived humanness of a CEO has no tipping point - i.e., when the CEO is perceived as more human, both employees’ organizational commitment and positive investor responses increase at an increasing rate. I contribute to the literature on authentic leadership by building an understanding of the mental health discourse CEOs engage in and its effects on employees and investors. By depicting mental health discourse as an asset, my findings also make an impact on management practice.