Responding to followers' warning signals

Abstract Since the rise of working from home, communication between leaders and their followers has become more digital. When communicating through digital media, there is a risk that information and nonverbal signals may not be transmitted adequately. This can be particularly challenging for health‐oriented leaders in terms of their StaffCare, which encompasses both the awareness of followers' health needs and concrete behaviors to promote their well‐being. When aiming to recognize followers' early warning signals related to mental health issues and take appropriate action, leaders may be hindered by the limitations of digital communication. We conducted an experimental study ( n = 47) to investigate whether leaders are better able to recognize and respond to their followers' warning signals during face‐to‐face (f2f) contact compared to video or telephone communication. Our findings confirm that leaders' StaffCare is more successful in f2f than in video and telephone settings. To further examine the decrease in StaffCare during digital communication, a second field study ( n = 275) was conducted. The results showed that leaders' awareness and behavior were lower when working from home without f2f communication than when working on‐site. Together, our two studies demonstrate the new challenges and conditions of health‐oriented leadership in digital communication and outline practical recommendations for human resource practitioners on how leaders' StaffCare can be fostered.