Supporting Employee Wellbeing and Reducing Stress
- Trish Attah
- Nov 2
- 5 min read
It's International Stress Awareness week, and whilst stress can impact individuals at work all year round, this week shines a light on the growing impact of stress in the workplace and serves as a timely reminder that employee wellbeing is not a “nice to have", it’s a business essential.
According to recent HSE data, over 17 million working days are lost each year due to stress, anxiety and depression. Behind those statistics are people trying to balance workloads, adapt to change, and stay productive under pressure. Work isn't the only thing we have in our lives, there's a broad spetrum of things can cause us to be stressed in general, not just stressed in the workplace. To add further complication, some people handle stress better than others and what triggers people to feel stress can vary from person to person and over periods of time.
The Cost of Workplace Stress
High levels of stress lead to:
Increased absence and turnover
Lower productivity and engagement
Poorer decision-making and innovation
Damaged employer reputation
Unwell employees
For HR teams and leaders, tackling stress means going beyond wellbeing slogans. It’s about creating systems and cultures that prevent stress from taking root and recognising when employees are stressed, dealing with it in a meaningful way, not just having 'Pizza Fridays'.
Practical Steps for HR and Leadership
Whilst there's no one fix for workplace stress, here are some actionable ways to build a healthier, more resilient workplace:
Review Workload and Job Design – Honestly look at whether expectations in your workplace are realistic. Whilst some people may regularly take on more work, consistently doing so can impact stress and general health. Make sure you're really on top of the workploads within your orgasniations and if more staff are needed be honest about that. The cost of hiring more people when you need them will always be less than the cost of leading someone to burnout.
Train Line Managers to Spot the Signs – Equip managers to notice changes in behaviour and have supportive, empathetic conversations. There are various different organisations that provide comprehensive training courses on things like mental health awareness, like Mental Health England and resources are also available from online training providers like IHASCO or ACAS.
Promote Psychological Safety – Foster an environment where employees feel safe to speak up about pressure or burnout without fear of stigma. Whilst this is easily said, in reality this is something that can take quite some time to foster. Spend time leading by example, with leaders being vulnerable and honest allowing others space to fell comfortable speaking out when they're not ok. Be honest about when times are tough and when mistakes are made.
Offer Flexibility and Autonomy – Empower employees to manage how and when they work where possible. COVID has created an evironment where many individuals now prefer the flexibility of working from home. Numerous organisations are enouraging people back into the workplace, sometimes driven by the overheads of having physical buildings. We've all worked in organisations where we haven't felt trusted and more often than not those aren't environments people choose to stay in. Create environments which provide space for employees to have flexibility, backed up by relevant policies, so that people are treated like adults. Ultimately, working in this way will foster more engagement from employees who feel valued and empowered.
Regularly Review Your Wellbeing Strategy – The word s'strategy' always makes things seem bigger than they are but what essentially this point means is look at your data. Use data from absence, exit interviews, and engagement surveys to identify stress hotspots and look at ways you can proactively deal with the themes that arise. Organisations cannot be responsible for an employees personal life, but they can control the environment that they work in to the extent that there is proactive consideration for workplace stressors and a focus on employee wellbeing. Don't be afraid to question your data, if people are reporting workplace stress, don't make assumptions delve into the data so you can deal with the issues.
Use tools like Insights Discovery to help you understand your people. Psychometric tools like Insights Discovery and help organisations understand how people's behaviour changes when they are stressed. Everyone is individual, but for those who are managing teams, being armed with a clear profile that helps you identify how someone may behave when they are stressed can be a powerful tool in the workplace. As an example, my profile shows that whether I'm stressed or not, my behaviours to the outside world don't really change. I'm a bit like a swan, graceful on the outside but my legs are paddling non-stop under water! From a management perspective this means those who do manage me know to check in with me more as signs of stress might be harder to pick out.
The Haylo HR Approach
At Haylo HR, it's our core belief that your people make your business. As such focusing on your people and creating environments where people can do their best work should be of paramount concern to business owners and leaders. We work with organisations to develop practical HR strategies that prioritise people as well as performance. From designing wellbeing frameworks and leadership training to supporting employee engagement initiatives, we help businesses build workplaces where people can thrive, not just survive.
👉 This Stress Awareness Week, let’s move from stress awareness to stress action.
A proactive approach to wellbeing isn’t just good for your people , it’s good for business.
Want to know more?
Check out our video on Workplace Stress from back in the days when we were called Tap HR!
Would you like to see if your HR is up to scratch? Take our free quiz.
Our quiz aims to give you some insight into how you're managing your HR practices and provide you with some free tips and pointers on what you can do to make your HR practices even better! After taking our quick quiz, you'll receive a personalised insights email to help you take action and supercharge your HR!
I want some HR Help from Haylo HR ✅
We support your business with getting its HR foundations right, without stopping you from doing what you love. Get in contact for more details!
How do I get in contact?
Feel free to email us or book a free consultation.
Follow us on our social media platforms!
Disclaimer
All information within the post is provided for guidance only; always seek your own legal advice.
The information with this post was correct at the time of publishing, November 2025 but may be subject to change.