Pressure, guilt, and emotional drivers

The burden of leadership

Benefits play a major role in any organisation’s employee value proposition, helping to promote a positive workplace culture and general wellbeing. The impacts of benefit-related decisions are therefore felt widely, both by employees – in the shape of morale or engagement – and by organisations themselves, as they strive to attract and retain talent. By that same token, getting these decisions wrong can bring significant consequences.

Our survey reveals that SME leaders often carry a heavy emotional burden when it comes to benefits: hope, uncertainty, and a feeling that “more could be done” are common themes. Crucially, while 47% of respondents describe themselves as confident when implementing new benefits, a much larger 71% admit to feeling guilt about whether those benefits truly support their teams. This mismatch suggests that confidence may not always reflect conviction, masking doubt, second-guessing, and a pressure to appear assured.

This is understandable. Relative to larger organisations, SME leaders have significant exposure to their employees. This is partly a physical trait – smaller offices bring greater visibility – but it is also a cultural one, a consequence of the tight-knit working community that is a common hallmark of SMEs. While this is a positive, it can make it harder for leaders to separate ‘human factors’ from business decision making. A feeling that there is “nowhere to hide” should things go wrong can add to the weight of responsibility.