Workplace stress, burnout, back pain and exhaustion are taking a toll on Britain’s workforce. Experts say businesses that take staff wellbeing seriously could benefit from fewer absences, happier teams and improved productivity.
Fruit bowls, wellbeing days and the occasional mindfulness session once seemed enough to show that a business cared about its staff.
But the picture has changed.
Almost a million workers now report work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Sickness absence is also rising. As a result, experts say businesses can no longer treat wellbeing as a workplace perk.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an estimated 964,000 workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in Great Britain during 2024/25.
These conditions resulted in an estimated 22.1 million lost working days. They accounted for 62% of all working days lost due to work-related ill health.
The latest CIPD research also highlights the scale of the problem. Average sickness absence has reached 9.4 days per employee each year. This is the highest level recorded in more than 15 years.
Mental ill health is now the leading cause of long-term absence. Stress also remains a major contributor to both short and long-term sickness.
And absence only tells part of the story.
The hidden cost of carrying on
Danielle Parle, Head of Centre and Teacher of Psychology at Maxam Training, says businesses also need to consider presenteeism.
This happens when employees continue working while physically or mentally unwell. They may turn up for work but struggle to perform at their usual level.
“Stress is an adaptive response that is part of our biological survival mechanism,” she explains. “Chronic stress can have serious consequences on physical and mental health.”
Danielle believes educating employees about stress can help them make better coping choices. It can also improve emotional intelligence and create a more supportive workplace culture.
“People are the most valuable asset and maintaining a human-centred workplace is more important than ever in an increasingly digital world.”
There is also a strong financial argument for taking staff wellbeing seriously.
Deloitte estimates that poor employee mental health costs UK employers around £51 billion each year. This comes from a combination of presenteeism, absence and staff turnover.
Its research also found an average return of around £4.70 for every £1 invested in employee mental health and wellbeing.
Prevention and early intervention can produce particularly strong returns.
Wellbeing can’t fix a badly designed workplace
However, simply spending money on wellbeing initiatives isn’t enough.
Workplace specialists say employers must also look at what causes stress in the first place.
Nicky Lloyd Greame, founder and Stress Management Consultant at The Stress Specialist Limited, says businesses often make wellbeing the employee’s responsibility.
“A wellness day or a mindfulness app might tick a box, but if the real drivers are poor communication, unmanageable workload or clunky processes, you’re asking people to build resilience against problems the business itself hasn’t fixed.”
She describes stress as a bucket that gradually fills.
“Everyone’s fills up, that’s unavoidable, but the answer isn’t waiting for it to overflow and then offering a fruit bowl.”
Instead, she says businesses should look at what is filling that bucket. They should also give employees consistent ways to reduce the pressure.
Tom Oxley runs Bamboo Mental Health and has spent 14 years reviewing employers and training managers across the UK and Europe.
He also believes businesses need to tackle problems at the source.
Organisations should involve their leaders, train managers and review HR procedures. They should also talk to employees about the pressures they experience at work.
His message to employers is simple. Don’t just look at the cost of wellbeing support. Look at it as a way to protect the business and its people.
Spot the changes before someone reaches breaking point
Prevention is a common theme among workplace wellbeing specialists.
Adel Houten, Founder and CEO of Tapaway, says employers often wait too long before offering meaningful support.
“Stress rarely comes from one place. We don’t leave problems at home when we arrive at work, or automatically leave workplace pressures behind when we go home.”
She believes practical techniques can help employees recognise stress earlier. These tools can also help people manage their response during difficult moments.
Technology and AI could create new opportunities too.
Adel says digital tools could provide more personalised support when people need it. This could help employees “pause, regulate and reset before everyday stress becomes burnout.”
Managers can also learn to recognise changes in their employees.
Ross McWilliam of MindsetPro says warning signs will not look the same for everyone.
Someone might become angry or unusually quiet. Their punctuality could change. Absence may increase. They might even start socialising noticeably more or less.
The key is noticing a change from that person’s usual behaviour.
His advice for employers is refreshingly simple: listen more regularly, both formally and informally.
Start by asking: “What’s been good?”
Improving workplace wellbeing doesn’t always require an expensive programme.
Nicole Hall of Hummingbird Hypnotherapy suggests introducing one simple question into the working week:
“What’s been good?”
Nicole works one-to-one with people experiencing work-related stress. She says many feel their employer only notices them when something goes wrong.
Regularly sharing successes can change that.
It gives employees a chance to recognise their wins. It also helps employers understand what people enjoy and value about their work.
Celebrating those positive contributions could also help build stronger and more connected teams.
Don’t forget physical wellbeing
Conversations about workplace wellbeing often focus on mental health. However, physical health deserves attention too.
CIPD’s 2025 employee research found that backache and musculoskeletal problems were common among workers reporting health conditions.
For Leicester-based therapist Stuart, supporting physical wellbeing doesn’t always mean employees need to leave their workplace.
Through Massage Therapy Leicester, Stuart provides on-site workplace wellbeing treatments. These include chair acupressure alongside his wider massage and holistic therapy services.
On-site massage and chair acupressure can give employees time to step away, reset and focus on their physical wellbeing during the working day.
Bringing treatments into the workplace gives employees dedicated time away from their desks. It provides an opportunity to stop, physically decompress and reset during the working day.
On-site massage and chair acupressure can form one part of a wider wellbeing strategy.
Businesses can combine this type of support with good management and sensible workloads. Open communication and access to mental health support also matter.
Most importantly, employees need a workplace culture where looking after themselves isn’t seen as a weakness.
No single massage, wellbeing day or initiative can repair an unhealthy workplace culture. But practical physical wellbeing support can become part of a consistent approach to looking after staff.
From workplace perk to business strategy
Perhaps this is the biggest change businesses need to make.
Wellbeing shouldn’t appear during Mental Health Awareness Week and disappear for the remaining 51 weeks of the year.
Ross McWilliam argues that businesses need a “gentle consistent theme of wellbeing”. Support should take different forms and remain accessible to everyone.
Consistency matters.
CIPD research found that 64% of organisations take steps to identify or reduce workplace stress. Yet only half believe their efforts work.
Heavy workloads also remain a leading cause of stress-related absence.
Businesses may therefore need to ask themselves some difficult questions.
Is the workload reasonable? Do managers listen? Do they recognise employees when things go well? Can someone admit they’re struggling before reaching crisis point? Does the business consider both physical and mental wellbeing?
Employee wellbeing isn’t about making work completely stress-free.
It’s about creating an environment where businesses address preventable pressures. It’s about listening to people and offering meaningful support before they reach breaking point.
Millions of working days are lost to stress, depression and anxiety every year.
Looking after employees is the compassionate thing to do.
It also makes business sense.
