The way we work isn’t working. Although there’s more talk about health and wellbeing at work, we’re still a nation of stressed-out workers — and it's getting worse.
More than half (59%) of Brits say they have felt stressed to the point where it has affected their daily life, according to a recent IPSOS survey.
A 2023 report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found employee sickness absence is at the highest level for more than a decade. And, around three-quarters of workers have taken time off because of stress — with heavy workloads and poor management the most common causes.
So as we head into 2025, what can we do to fix the problem?
1. Crack down on overworking
More than half (53%) of employees in the UK feel overworked. And while we might not always have control over the amount we have to do, we can be more conscious about taking breaks and switching off.
“We spend long hours at work, take work home in the evenings and at weekends, check our work emails outside of our standard working hours,” says Alice Hewitt, leadership and performance consultant at Lumley Loveday Consulting.
“It reduces our ability to mentally disconnect from work and rest, and impacts on our health and relationships. This not only makes us physically exhausted, it makes us increasingly anxious and stressed, as we feel under pressure to be constantly on and available.”
Employers need to make sure that people have reasonable workloads and pay attention to signs of overwork. For example, if someone tends to email out of hours, arrives early or stays late, or appears stressed or tired.
If you tend to take too much on, Hewitt advises managing your time and expectations. “My favourite tool for this is ‘do, delegate, delete’ — go through your list of things you need to do and identify all the things that can only be done by you,” she says.
“Then identify all the things that can be delegated to someone else, and ‘delete’ what remains. It helps you focus on what’s important.”
Working healthier is about more than avoiding burnout, it's about re-imagining what it means to thrive. ·10'000 Hours via Getty Images
2. Separate your self-worth from your work
Being proud of your job and enjoying your work is rarely a bad thing. But it’s important to remember that there are limitations. If you become so wrapped up in your work identity that any setbacks affect your self-worth and mental wellbeing, it can be a major problem.
When Debbie Hancock, a financial management consultant and money mindset coach at Southbourne Accountancy, took redundancy from a previous job, she felt like she had lost her identity.
“This was not a good place to be mentally,” she says. “We can fear failure, strive for perfection and neglect our own needs to maintain this identity. When you tie your self-worth to your job you set yourself up for disappointment and stress. If your job performance falters or there is a change in circumstances, so does your self-esteem.”
Untangling your sense of self-worth from what you do professionally isn’t easy. But it can help to think about your "core values" — what really matters to you.
“Is it family, friends, health or creativity? When you focus on these values, you'll feel more fulfilled and less stressed,” says Hancock.
“Be kind to yourself, especially when things don't go as planned. Everyone makes mistakes,” she adds. “Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. And remember that your salary or job title does not define your worth as a human.”
3. Communicate your needs
It’s not always easy to speak up when you’re struggling, but not letting issues fester is the key to less stress and better health.
“The most common unhealthy behaviours that come up for people are often focused around lack of communication,” says career coach Zoe Thompson. “For example, not having conversations early on so people worry more about having them, not talking about workloads or what needs to be prioritised, and not having honest conversations about things that they are struggling with, and not asking for help.”
Getting into the habit of communicating your needs — whether it’s saying "no" to a project you don’t have time for, or asking for clarification — will make it easier. And it helps to set a precedent for others to do the same.
The UK is a nation of stressed-out workers — so as we head into 2025, what can we do to fix the problem? ·Luis Alvarez via Getty Images
4. Swap ‘busyness’ for productivity
“Directly influenced by the hyperconnected world we live and work in, is the mistaken belief that busyness is the same as productivity,” says Hewitt.
“We don’t allow ourselves downtime, even when we desperately need it, because we think we should be doing something all the time. In reality, though, we’re more productive when we rest and take proper breaks.”
Many of us believe that to be successful, we must immerse ourselves in work and sacrifice our health for long hours and unrealistic to-do lists.
To tackle this mindset, employers need to rethink how performance is measured. Instead of focusing on hours spent at a desk, employers should look at the quality of work and the wider impact it will have on the business.
5. Put firm boundaries in place
The term "boundaries" has become a buzzword in workplace rhetoric, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important.
“From emails at midnight to being perpetually ‘on’, poor boundaries leave us depleted and resentful,” says career expert Lauren Chiren, CEO and founder of Women of a Certain Stage, which provides advice for women experiencing menopause.
“Signal that we are choosing to work the hours we are and put a footnote in our email signature so others don't feel compelled to reply when we write or feel that they need to do the same,” she says.
“Better still — set timers for work time and learn to switch off when the timer tells you. Working healthier is about more than avoiding burnout, it's about re-imagining what it means to thrive.”
