Latest statistics from the 2024 Drewberry™ Employee Benefits And Workplace Satisfaction Survey reveal a significant problem: employees are feeling stressed about work both in and out of the workplace.
Work-related stress is not to be ignored. It’s not just detrimental to your employees, but your business as well. With a whopping 91% of the UK workforce experiencing some level of stress while at work, how can you tackle this epidemic as an employer?
91% Of Employees Are Stressed At Work
When we asked UK employees whether they feel stressed at work, 9 out of 10 people said they experience some form of work-related stress. This is a significant number considering the consequences it can have. A team full of stressed staff doesn’t bode well for business, especially for a small business with a small workforce.
Let’s break that down:
- 55% were “sometimes” stressed at work
- 28% are “frequently” stressed
- 8% told us they faced stress at work “all of the time”!
- A small percentage (8%) “never” experienced it.
Our findings show workplace stress is a prevalent issue affecting most of the UK workforce. The fact that such a significant percentage of employees are stressed can be directly linked to organisational practices.
For example, the role leadership / management teams play in stress management. It also suggests a need for better mental health resources at work.
Employees Are Stressed Outside Of Work Too
Not only is stress at work prevalent among UK employees, 86% of employees feel stressed outside of work too.
Employees Are Thinking About Work Outside Of The Working Day
For a lot of staff, leaving work at the office door is easier said than done, with many thinking about it outside of their workplace.
Alongside family issues (47%) and money worries (40%), thinking about work (40%) was the third biggest cause of stress outside of the workplace.
How Employee Stress Affects Your Business
Persistent stress is not good for your employees’ health. Alongside the core wellbeing concerns associated with stress, it can have a significant impact on your business operations. Here’s how stress manifests:
- Reduced productivity: High stress in the workplace can reduce concentration and cognitive performance, leading to difficulty focusing and managing time
- Increased absenteeism: Long-term stress is linked to physical and mental health problems and increased absenteeism at work. Its impact is no joke, and prolonged stress can manifest as physical symptoms like fatigue, body aches, and nausea
- Higher employee turnover: Stress is a common cause for high turnover rates in business, costing you time and money in recruitment activity
- Negative workplace culture: With chronic stress comes strained relationships. You might find more conflict between staff, which impacts your wider company culture.
4 Strategies To Combat Workplace Stress
To tackle the epidemic of workplace stress, you need to implement strategies that promote a healthier and supportive environment.
By taking action, you can help to reduce stress levels and create a happy, positive work environment. Here are four actionable strategies to take into consideration:
1. Revamp Your Employee Benefits
You can take a proactive approach to tackling workplace stress by introducing benefits, such as:
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): EAPs provide staff with tools and services to manage stress, among other things
- Mental health support: Mental health services give staff access to support and counselling (Benefits such as Group Health Insurance & Group Income Protection often offer this type of support as a free additional benefit)
- Corporate Health Cash Plans: Health Cash Plans support the overall wellbeing of employees, allowing them to cover part of the costs of treatments
- Wellness apps: Stress management is key, and wellness apps can help provide necessary support in times of high stress
- Flexible working options: Allowing staff to work flexibly enables them to create a healthy work-life balance and combat stress.
Provide Benefits That Help Combat Cause Of Stress
With financial worries and family issues adding to employee stress outside of work, consider introducing benefits that alleviate these pressures too.
Implementing supportive benefits can significantly reduce overall stress, leading to a happier, healthier workforce. Think about offering things such as:
- Discounts scheme
Discount schemes can help an employee’s monthly income go further by giving them access to thousands of retail discounts
- Good workplace pension
This can alleviate worries they have about their financial future. Plus, 60% of employees said they’d actually take enhanced pension contributions over other benefits
- Insurance policies that protect their loved ones
With a fifth of the workforce wanting core protection products, having insurance in place can help reduce some family worries. Employees have peace of mind that financially their family would be taken care of if they were to pass away or be unable to work due to sickness or injury.
2. Improve Communications
A significant reason for stress is a lack of good, effective communication. If tasks aren’t properly communicated, mistakes and misunderstandings occur, which generally result in stress for employees.
You can improve how you communicate by:
- Being clear and direct with instructions
- Understanding communication styles
- Ensuring you listen to your team.
It’s not only about improving how you communicate, but about the culture you create around communication. It’s important to develop an environment where employees are confident in voicing concerns or asking for help. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved, which leads perfectly to our next suggestion.
3. Effectively Manage Workloads
Unmanageable workloads are a stressor for employees. And if ignored can lead to employee burnout. Your team is only human, and it’s easy for workloads to become too much.
Your management team should oversee team workloads and ensure priorities are made clear. This can help your employees to handle their workload effectively themselves.
Delegating tasks to those with more availability can help to reduce stress, so it’s important to assess each employee’s workload. If someone has too much on their plate, can you delegate any of these to better manage task allocation?
As our survey shows, 40% of employees stress about work even when they aren’t there. Employers have a responsibility to ensure their employees aren’t heading for burnout due to unhealthy work practices. Promoting a healthy work-life balance helps to alleviate stress. You can do this by:
- Encouraging regular breaks
Ensure employees take breaks to recharge
- Allowing remote work
Give staff the flexibility to work from home or a different location
- Promoting healthy living
Offer benefits like Cycle To Work schemes and gym membership discounts
- Focusing on productivity
Emphasise work outcomes rather than hours worked
- Reviewing annual leave policies
Ensure employees take their full leave
- Setting boundaries
Insist employees don’t check emails outside working hours
- Leading by example
Don’t stay late in the office or answer emails at night.
Stress-Free Benefits With Drewberry
A solid benefits package with wellness perks is a fantastic way to keep employees engaged and motivated. It shows appreciation for their hard work by offering them something meaningful – beyond their payslip.
But setting up and maintaining a competitive employee benefits package requires a decent bit of admin, which quickly becomes time consuming. We do the heavy lifting for you, giving you more time to focus on what matters.
We live and breathe employee benefits, doing this day in-day out for businesses just like yours. Looking at the big picture, we get to know your unique workforce and benchmark your offering against competitors.
Best of all? We have access to the most competitive rates on the market for core benefits, such as Group Life Insurance, Group Health Insurance, and Group Critical Illness Cover. Give us a call on 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.
Why Speak to Us?
Employee benefits can be a headache. But our specialists do this day-in, day-out, offering first class service when you need it most. Here’s why you should talk to us:
- Award-winning independent employee benefits consultants, working with leading UK insurers and benefit providers
- Assigned specialist on hand to help – every step of the way
- 4127 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Find us on the financial services register
- Claims support when you need it most.