Workplace stress: practical ways employers can support staff wellbeing

Stress, depression and anxiety are among the biggest causes of work-related ill health in the UK, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Behind those figures are real people: talented colleagues who are tired, stretched and struggling to switch off.

In my years as an HR leader and now as a people and wellbeing consultant, I have seen that the organisations that do this well do not rely on a one-off wellbeing week. They look honestly at what causes pressure, involve their people in fixing it, and give staff simple tools they can actually use.

What causes stress at work?

The HSE's Management Standards are a helpful starting point. They group the main causes of work-related stress into six areas:

• Demands: workload, work patterns and the working environment
• Control: how much say people have in the way they do their work
• Support: encouragement and resources from the organisation, managers and colleagues
• Relationships: promoting positive working and dealing with unacceptable behaviour
• Role: whether people understand their role and avoid conflicting demands
• Change: how organisational change is managed and communicated

Looking at your organisation through these six areas helps you move from "people seem stressed" to specific things you can change.

Practical steps employers can take

1. Listen first

Before planning anything, find out what your people are actually experiencing. Short surveys, focus groups and conversations with managers will tell you far more than assumptions. Staff are much more likely to believe in a wellbeing plan they helped to shape.

2. Build a wellbeing strategy, not a list of perks

Fruit bowls and app subscriptions have their place, but they do not fix unmanageable workloads or unclear roles. A good wellbeing strategy links to your people strategy, has a clear action plan, and is owned by senior leaders.

3. Equip your managers

Line managers are often the first to notice when someone is struggling, and the most likely to make a difference. Give them the confidence and skills to have supportive conversations, adjust workloads and signpost help, and make sure they are supported too.

4. Look at workload and ways of working

Unrealistic deadlines, back-to-back meetings and constant email all add up. Simple changes, such as meeting-free time, clear priorities and agreed expectations about out-of-hours messages, can ease pressure across a whole team.

5. Give people practical tools

People need techniques they can use in the moment, not just information. Group sophrology programmes teach colleagues simple breathing, movement and visualisation exercises to manage the effect of pressure on their health, in a few minutes, at their desk or between meetings.

6. Measure and adjust

Agree a few measures at the start, such as sickness absence, engagement scores or survey responses, and review them regularly. Keep what works and change what does not.

Why it is worth the investment

Supporting wellbeing is not only the right thing to do. Organisations that manage stress well tend to see lower absence, better retention and more engaged teams, and employers have a legal duty to assess the risk of work-related stress and act on it.

Common questions

Do employers have to manage stress at work?

Yes. In the UK, employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. The HSE's Management Standards are designed to help with this.

What is the first step in a workplace wellbeing strategy?

Listen. Understanding what your staff are experiencing, and why, should shape everything that follows.

Can sophrology be delivered to teams?

Yes. I create and guide bespoke sophrology programmes for groups and teams, shaped around the pressures they face.

If you would like to talk about wellbeing in your organisation, or any of your people priorities, get in touch.