Workplace stress is familiar to most employees – but that doesn’t make it any less real in its impact. While stress in small doses can be motivating, sustained or unmanaged, stress can slowly erode wellbeing, performance and engagement across your workforce.

In the UK, work-related stress, depression and anxiety account for almost half of all work-related ill health cases, with around 964,000 workers affected in the last reporting year [1]

From increasing workloads and shifting priorities to the challenge of balancing professional and personal life, stress can show up in many ways, and it often does so quietly. As an employer, you can help your people build healthier coping habits. Doing this not only supports individual resilience but also boosts team performance and organisational success.

Understanding stress and resilience at work

Stress is a natural human response. It’s part of how we react to demands, and in short bursts, it can even enhance focus and drive. But when stress becomes frequent or prolonged, that adaptive response can overwhelm someone’s capacity to cope.

Research also shows that poor mental health costs UK employers an estimated £42 - £45 billion each year through presenteeism, sickness absence and staff turnover [2].

Resilience – the ability to adapt, navigate and bounce back from pressure – plays a key role in how employees manage stress. Building resilience is not about erasing stress, but equipping people with the skills and support structures to respond to stress in healthier ways.

Why healthy coping matters for your organisation

When individuals don’t have constructive ways of coping, stress can contribute to:

Burning out or reduced energy
Trouble concentrating or decision fatigue
Increased absence and presenteeism
Higher turnover and reduced morale

Supporting healthier coping habits doesn’t happen by accident – it comes from deliberate design of culture, support systems and everyday practices.

1. Create a culture that normalises stress and support

A powerful first step is to make space for open conversation. Stress thrives in silence when people feel they must handle everything on their own.

Encourage leaders and managers to:

Speak openly about stress and resilience
Check in on workload and wellbeing, not just tasks
Model healthy boundaries (e.g. clear start/finish times, breaks)
Reinforce that seeking support is a strength

This sets the tone that wellbeing is valued just as much as productivity.

2. Educate your workforce on stress awareness and resilience

Knowledge empowers action. Providing education on stress and resilience helps employees recognise early warning signs and adopt coping strategies before pressure becomes overwhelming.

Training topics might include:

Understanding stress responses and common triggers
Practical self-care practices and coping techniques
Setting realistic goals and managing expectations
Time management and prioritisation skills

Helping people build these everyday skills reinforces resilience as a practical capability, not just a buzzword.

3. Embed healthier coping habits into daily work life

Encouraging healthy habits isn’t about telling people what to do, it’s about shaping environments where good habits are easy to choose.

Consider:

Encouraging regular, screen-free breaks throughout the day
Promoting physical movement – even short walks or stretch breaks
Ensuring workload planning includes realistic time for recovery
Supporting boundary setting (e.g. no-meeting blocks or email curfews)

Simple changes can become powerful anti-stress practices when employees feel supported to use them.

4. Equip managers with the tools to support their teams

Your managers are vital – they’re often the first people employees turn to when stress is rising. Yet many feel unsure how to recognise or respond to signs of strain.

Research shows that many managers report organisational barriers to supporting staff wellbeing, including not feeling equipped with the right skills [3].

Manager support could include:

Training in stress indicators and non-judgemental communication
Frameworks for supportive conversations
Guidance on adjusting workload or resources
Signposting tools and mental health services
Regular 1:1s that create space for open conversations about workload, pressure and wellbeing

The more confident managers feel, the more likely their teams are to speak up early, before stress becomes entrenched.

5. Make support visible, accessible and easy to use

Even the best support options aren’t helpful if people don’t know about them, or don’t feel safe accessing them.

To boost visibility and use:

Include support details in onboarding and team meetings
Communicate help pathways clearly and often
Use a range of channels (email, intranet, posters)
Share anonymised examples or testimonials
Review and refresh communications regularly

Support shouldn’t be hidden in policy documents; it should be a lived part of daily organisational life.

6. Measure, reflect and improve

Stress isn’t static, and neither is your workforce’s response to it. Regularly check in on how things are working:

Pulse surveys focused on stress and workload
Analysis of absence, turnover and employee feedback
Manager and employee focus groups
Utilisation rates of support services

Use these insights to evolve your approach – what works when stress is low may need recalibrating when pressure rises.

A healthier workforce is a stronger workforce

Helping people build healthier coping habits is both compassionate and commercially smart. It can lead to:

Reduced sickness absence
Better engagement and retention
Enhanced performance and creativity
A stronger employer reputation
A workforce that thrives even under pressure

Research backs this up: for every £1 invested in workplace mental health interventions, organisations can see up to £5 in return [4].

Stress isn’t going away but with the right approach, its impact doesn’t have to hold your people or your organisation back.

How Healix Health can support your strategy

At Healix Health, we support organisations to implement structured, preventative wellbeing strategies that help people manage stress and strengthen resilience. As your partner, we can help you:

Embed wellbeing into your corporate healthcare plan
Access mental health support and counselling services
Provide digital tools and resources for self-management
Deliver education sessions on stress, resilience and coping

Because when your people feel supported, they’re not just coping – they are capable, engaged and ready to give their best.

Health and Safety Executive, Key figures for Great Britain 2024 to 2025, https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overview.htm
Mental Health Foundation, Mental health at work: statistics, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/mental-health-work-statistics
MHFA England, Workplace mental health statistics, https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/blog/ten-workplace-mental-health-statistics-for-2023/
Mental Health Foundation, Mental health at work: statistics, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/mental-health-work-statistics

Stress at work: how to help your people build healthier coping habits