Most employees already know stress trickles down from the top. Now there’s data to prove it.

A new study launched during the “Who is Taking Care of the Boss?” conference, hosted by The Malta Chamber of Commerce and the Willingness Team, reveals that 90% of CEOs feel overworked and 77% report high levels of stress. This pressure is affecting not just their health, but entire organisations.

The conference brought together clinical experts and business leaders to spotlight a topic often ignored in boardrooms: executive wellbeing. The aim was to start treating leadership stress not just as a personal burden, but as a systemic risk to productivity, innovation, and employee morale.

“The same traits that drive people to the top – ambition, grit, constant high standards – are also what push them to burnout,” said psychotherapist Matthew Bartolo, who presented the study results. “If those habits go unchecked, they can infect entire teams with a culture of overwork and exhaustion.”

Malta Chamber CEO Dr Marthese Portelli and panellists from across sectors, including catering, consulting, and HR, called for stronger workplace support structures, leadership training in emotional intelligence, and a rethink of what ‘strong leadership’ really means.

Speakers agreed that today’s best leaders are not only strategic and driven. They are also self-aware, open to vulnerability, and willing to lead by example when it comes to setting boundaries.

Danica Cassar, health psychologist and partner at Willingness, put it bluntly: “Business leaders aren’t machines. Chronic stress and loneliness shouldn’t be the cost of success. If we want resilient organisations, we need to start by protecting the people in charge.”

Burnout, now recognised by the World Health Organization as an occupational phenomenon, is no longer a private issue. It’s a public one. And ignoring it, experts warn, is a risk no business can afford.