When the team’s running on empty: what Just Eat’s People Managers taught us about resilience

You know that moment in a team meeting, when someone’s clearly struggling, the mood’s a little off, but no one quite knows what to say?

Now imagine you’re the manager. The one people turn to. The one who’s supposed to steady the ship, even when you’re feeling the waves too. That’s the silent reality many people managers face. And it’s exactly what led Just Eat to reach out.  

If you’ve ever ordered dinner from your couch*, there’s a fair chance you’ve met them. Just Eat is a global on‑demand delivery marketplace, born from a 2020 merger and headquartered in Amsterdam. Today they connect over 356,000 partners across 17 countries, facilitating 653 million orders and generating roughly €19 billion in gross transaction value in 2024. 

Their declared mission? “Empower every food moment”, from Friday night takeout to your daily cuppa –even a surprise bouquet– by building convenience for both consumers and partners. They’re also making moves on sustainability, tech innovation, and youth development through global partnerships.

*And if you’ve never ordered dinner from your couch, but you have watched more than 30 seconds of Champions League football recently, then you’ll know them as the UEFA sponsor that appears literally everywhere. Between the pitch-side ads and seaweed food packaging at matches, their logo’s all but etched into our retinas at this point. And we’re hardly mad about it!

Just Eat’s brief was simple and powerful: 

“We usually see high-level themes come up that are impacting the team's resilience. We want our People Managers to feel more equipped to navigate change, have the right conversations, and support their people through tough times.”

Of course, the recurring themes that their leaders felt were impacting their teams’ resilience during challenging times were universal experiences. We’d hazard a guess you might relate to some or all of them: 

• Waiting in the grey zone – when change is announced (like a team restructure or policy shift), but clarity is still weeks away
• Juggling too much with too little clarity – unsure what to prioritise, or how to raise it without sounding to leaders like you’re not ‘coping’ as well as you should be
• Carrying the weight of illness or mental health challenges – trying to hold it together at work while navigating the hard stuff at home
• Personal curveballs – grief, relationship breakdowns, or a partner’s job loss quietly shaping how someone shows up (or doesn’t, or simply can’t) at work

Over a few months, we worked with 75 of Just Eat’s people managers – ranging from Directors to frontline leaders– across departments including finance, tech, product, sales, marketing, HR, customer service, and operations/logistics. 

Through a mix of in-person and virtual sessions, we got to intimately understand their day-to-day challenges and worked together to address them with practical, sustainable solutions.

We had our laughs (naturally), but it wasn’t all pep talks and positivity parades. We went there together – with the kind of honest, sometimes uncomfortable conversations about what it takes to lead with care when the pressure’s on. 

So what did we do differently?

You don’t need us to tell you that if you’re running on empty, it’s hard to lead with patience, presence, or anything that feels like genuine care. 

So, we kicked the People Manager Training programme off by delving into the fundamentals of looking after ourselves as leaders. Not in the Instagrammable bath bomb and herbal tea sense (though we all do love a bubble bath) – but the proactive and essential kind that keeps you steady and able to think and act clearly when pressure hits and things feel turbulent.

In these early sessions, we gave leaders space to reflect on their current habits and identify some of the potential blockers and blind spots. Then we explored practical, doable ways to build positive wellbeing strategies into the rhythm of their day (without creating extra effort or stress).

From there, we dug into these concepts and explored how to bring them to life – through simple shifts and practical actions that could be woven seamlessly into the day-to-day. 

As always, the facilitation style was paramount: giving people a safe and supportive space to reflect, discuss, connect, and integrate their discoveries. One participant commented that the sessions “felt like a very kind & caring atmosphere and Peter created a safe space”.

The tools included:

• Understanding the neuroscience behind our natural negative bias 
• The direct link between heartfelt positive emotions and the trait of resilience
• Embedding formal and informal mindfulness practices into the workday
• How to initiate tough (but kind) conversations
• Listening with empathy to understand (not just to respond or fix)
• Fostering authentic connection and trust

And behind those tools were some important, evidence-based takeaways that stuck:

• Practical wellbeing strategies people could actually use day to day
• Tools to manage stress and tough moments in high-performance environments, without burning out
• Simple habits that lead to lasting behaviour change (and sharper thinking and higher engagement at work)
• Deeper connection to self and others, creating stronger, more collaborative teams (with increased productivity being a natural byproduct)

We always like to emphasise that resilience isn’t just about bouncing back. It’s about building the foundations through mindfulness, connection (to yourself and others), and utilising practical positive psychology tools so you’re not constantly bouncing in the first place.

One leader shared that “Peter was incredibly interesting and provided some great insights into mindfulness. I have taken a lot away to implement in my team.”

‍And the response? 

We were incredibly humbled to receive such positive feedback…

• 100% said the training improved their understanding of resilience and how to cultivate it for themselves and their team.
• 86% said they will introduce new supporting habits into their day-to-day lives

One leader emphasised that “The content felt impactful and it was really nice to have additional training for People Managers”, while another said they “could have easily spent another hour really going through the content”.

Plus, some very kind words from Rosie Hyam, Lead HR Business Partner at Just Eat: 

“When we approached Peter to deliver training for our people leaders, he proved to be much more than just a facilitator. From the outset, he engaged as a true thought partner, collaborating with us to define the problem space and consider the most impactful way to tailor the content to our specific organisational challenges.

Participants praised Peter's expert knowledge, the compelling studies and stories he shared, and his engaging, open presentation style. We hope to work with Peter again on future projects!”

If you’re a people manager, here are some practical ways to build resilience in yourself and your team:

• Check in on the person, not just their output – Start your 1:1s with space for how people feel, not just what they’re doing.
• Ask questions and listen with empathy – to really understand, not just to respond or fix
• Model steadiness, not perfection – Share your own challenges, as well as how you manage stress or uncertainty. Modeling vulnerability goes a long way in building connection, safety, and trust, and helps to normalise honest conversations.
• Make reflection a ritual – Even five minutes to pause and reset can help your people think clearly and respond (not react) to pressure.
• Stay connected – Resilience grows through relationships. Foster honest, kind, and supportive dialogue. Especially when times are tough.
• Remember: resilience isn’t about “toughing it out”. It’s about bending without breaking, and helping others do the same.

At Lead-Well, we don’t believe in quick fixes. We believe in people-first leadership that feels deeply human and drives true impact. And we’re incredibly grateful to Just Eat for letting us help their managers lead in that way!

Are your people managers navigating similar waters?

Let’s talk about how we can support them through it.

Reach out at hello@leadwellcc.com or visit www.leadwellcc.com to learn more about how we can help. 

A big shout out to the team at The Wellbeing Agency for their work in bringing it all together and making it possible – thank you!