Stress Awareness Day is an opportunity to encourage open conversations while highlighting the importance of recognising stress before it becomes overwhelming. This year’s theme is ‘Shaping the Future of Stress and Wellbeing: Rehumanising the Workplace’, which places a spotlight on how we can create healthier, more supportive workplace environments. It encourages employers to look beyond individual stress management and consider the wider workplace cultures, expectations and pressures that influence employee wellbeing.
You may already know that many workplace wellbeing initiatives focus on individual responsibility. Employees are often encouraged to practise mindfulness, develop resilience or take breaks. For example, a yoga session or wellbeing webinar will have a limited impact if employees experience unrealistic workloads. Many organisations need a more comprehensive approach that looks at the culture and management practices.
Organisations should realise that employees have different circumstances, responsibilities, health needs and ways of working. A one-size-fits-all approach to wellbeing rarely accounts for these differences. Rehumanising the workplace involves:
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Prioritising meaningful connections
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Encouraging psychological safety
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Recognising individual needs
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Promoting flexibility
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Developing compassionate leadership
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Valuing people beyond their output
Signs of Stress in the Workplace
One of the biggest challenges in managing workplace stress is recognising when someone is actually struggling. Some employees may openly communicate their difficulties, while others may become withdrawn or try to conceal how they are feeling.
Changes in behaviour and performance can sometimes indicate that an individual is experiencing increased pressure. Common signs of stress include:
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Increased irritability or emotional sensitivity.
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Difficulty concentrating
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Persistent tiredness or disrupted sleep.
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Reduced motivation levels, confidence or engagement.
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Withdrawing from colleagues.
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Increased absences or presenteeism.
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Difficulty managing workloads
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Headaches, muscle tension or stomach problems.
Managers should avoid making assumptions about what someone is experiencing. Instead, create opportunities for open conversations.
The ACAS guidance on supporting employees experiencing work-related stress provides practical advice for employers and managers.
A Healthier Approach to Workplace Wellbeing
Creating a workplace that actively supports mental health requires more than occasional initiatives. So, here are five practical ways employers can begin shaping a healthier future for their workforce.
1. Take a preventative approach.
One of the most important steps employers can take is identifying and addressing the causes of stress before they begin to affect employee health. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends using its Management Standards approach to identify and manage workplace stress. This framework focuses on six key areas:
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Demands
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Control
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Support
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Relationships
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Role
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Change
By regularly reviewing these areas, employers can identify potential risks and take practical steps to improve working conditions.
2. Equip managers to recognise and respond to stress.
A supportive manager can help individuals feel valued, understood and comfortable discussing challenges. Poor communication and a lack of understanding can contribute to workplace stress.
Managers should also understand the importance of leading by example. Encouraging employees to maintain healthy boundaries is less effective if leaders routinely work excessive hours, discourage breaks or create an expectation of constant availability.
3. Make wellbeing conversations part of working life.
Regular one-to-one meetings, team check-ins and informal conversations can help organisations identify concerns earlier and understand how employees are managing their responsibilities.
4. Access to appropriate mental health support.
Even in supportive working environments, employees may experience periods of stress or mental health difficulties.
Providing access to appropriate support can help individuals understand their experiences, develop coping strategies and navigate challenges affecting their working lives.
Employers should also ensure employees understand what support is available and how to access it.
5. Make wellbeing an organisational priority.
This means regularly reviewing workplace policies, assessing stress risks, monitoring employee feedback and evaluating the effectiveness of wellbeing initiatives.
It also means recognising that organisational needs change. New technologies, changing workloads, hybrid working arrangements and evolving employee expectations all influence the way people experience work.
Employers and Staff Wellbeing
Employees should not be expected to continually develop greater resilience simply to cope with environments that place excessive demands on them. While individual coping strategies can be valuable, employers must also take responsibility for identifying and reducing the workplace factors that contribute to stress.
This is particularly important in sectors such as health and social care, where professionals may experience emotionally demanding situations, high workloads, staffing pressures and the ongoing responsibility of supporting others.
When employees spend their working lives caring for, educating or supporting other people, their own wellbeing must not be overlooked.
A healthier approach recognises that supporting employees is not separate from delivering effective services. People who feel supported, valued and equipped to do their jobs are better positioned to maintain their wellbeing and contribute positively to their organisations.
How TBHG supports workplace wellbeing
As specialists in work-focused health services, we work with individuals and organisations to provide accessible, evidence-based health and wellbeing solutions that support positive outcomes.
Our multidisciplinary team brings together expertise across mental health, psychology, counselling, occupational health and physical wellbeing, enabling us to deliver support that considers the individual as a whole.
Through our Corporate Health and Wellbeing Solutions, we work with organisations to develop tailored approaches to employee health. Our services include:
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Employee Assistance Programme
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Occupational Health Services
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Employee Counselling
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Webinars and Workshops
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Workplace Health Solutions
We also deliver the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service in partnership with Able Futures. Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, this service provides eligible individuals with confidential, one-to-one mental health support to help manage challenges affecting their working lives.
Support can include help with stress, anxiety, low mood, burnout and workplace pressures, with the aim of helping individuals remain in or return to work feeling more confident and supported.
Moving Forwards
Stress Awareness Day 2026 is an opportunity for organisations to reflect on the environments they create and the experiences of the people who work within them. Rehumanising the workplace is not about introducing more initiatives. Instead, focus on creating meaningful change in how people are managed, supported and valued.
By addressing the underlying causes of workplace stress and encouraging open conversations, employers can begin building healthier and more sustainable working environments.
Ultimately, the future of workplace wellbeing should be one where people do not have to sacrifice their health to succeed at work.
