How you can help your employees manage stress at work?
You should take a proactive approach to managing stress in your organisation as employee wellbeing should be your top priority. It’s important to build and cultivate an open and honest workplace that promotes a positive and understanding culture.
Here are several steps you can take to support your team in managing stress;
Recognising the signs and understanding the causes
The first step and most important step you can take is to recognise the signs before they get out of hand. Signs could present themselves in many ways and could be physical, cognitive, behavioural or emotional. They could be more subtle signs like headaches and sleep problems or irritability and mood swings or if left to develop over prolonged periods could lead to a weakened immune system causing minor ailments or worse case, long-term physical/mental health issues. Other signs could be disagreements, arguments, decreased performance, high sickness absences or even high staff turnover.
If you’re spotting any of these signs, it might be beneficial to take the employee aside to see how they’re doing and reassure them that you are there to support them. As a manager, you need to be proactive and mindful, recognising and minimising causes of stress within your team, whether that’s increased workload, tight deadlines or even management-related issues. It would be good to implement regular touch points or catch up one-to-one with your team in general, just to check up on how they're doing and how they’re finding workload.
Encourage positive workplace relationships
Nurturing a positive work environment that builds strong workplace relationships is integral to combating stress. It’s important for employees to feel like they have a safe place where they can share their feelings and talk openly about any challenges they are facing (if they want to). They should feel comfortable to discuss stress and mental health issues without fear of stigma. By fostering communication and honesty employees will feel comfortable coming forward about stress-related problems. They need to know you are there to support them and they are valuable members of your team. Again, you should do regular check-ins to offer support or organise team-building activities and social events to strengthen bonds among employees and reduce isolation. You should also encourage peer support and mentoring programs to create a more connected and supportive workplace.
Breaks, breaks, breaks!
Whether a quick 5-10 minute break to grab a coffee, an hour or two of digital detox or time off on annual leave, taking breaks is hugely important in managing stress and avoiding burnout. Recharging the mind and switching off will ensure your employees show up to work as their best self and ultimately perform better in their roles.
In the day-to-day, your teams should be taking regular breaks to step away from their desk and screen to decompress and rest their eyes. Nowadays, employees spend a large proportion of their time, if not all their time, staring at a screen, always available on-demand where it can be easy to forget to take breaks or find the time. It’s important that you, as their manager/employer, remind and encourage them to take breaks to prevent stress levels from rising and avoid burnout.
You should provide breakout spaces, encourage them to take their lunch away from their desk and you could even introduce ‘no meetings’ days allowing them to refresh their minds, take some respite for themselves and hopefully reduce any work-related pressures.
Managing Workloads
Perhaps the biggest driver of work-related stress is workload. Sometimes, it may not be clear just how much someone has on their plate, from their day-to-day jobs, and their weekly/monthly projects but also ad-hoc tasks that have been added to the mix. Keeping track of your team’s workload, how it’s spread across the team and ensuring no one is overwhelmed is essential to managing stress. Checking in regularly with each member of your team through 1-2-1 meetings or informal conversations is important to gauge how much work they have. It will provide them with the opportunity to express any concerns or challenges they are facing and express the true extent of the workload.
Mental Health Resources and Support
It’s important to offer mental health resources whether that be counselling or mental health services. Not only will it support your staff/team but it will also make them feel valued and looked after. You could also offer stress management workshops, mindfulness sessions, mental health webinars or stress management training, led internally or externally if you don’t have the resources. What’s most important is that your employees feel supported and if required get help where needed.
Encourage Physical and Mental Wellness
Tied to this is both physical and mental wellness. Encouraging and offering wellness programs that can include fitness classes, on-site gyms or subsidised gym memberships. When it comes to wellbeing, looking after your physical health can help your mental health and stress levels so it’s really important to provide this or encourage this through things like step-count competitions.
Recognition and Rewards
It's important for your team to feel valued and their contributions both appreciated and rewarded. Promoting a recognition and rewards culture where you offer recognition programs, bonuses or simply verbal praise is key to motivation and drive. These factors can contribute to reducing workplace stress as employees feel more secure, engaged and part of a positive community.
Lead by example & and champion healthy work-life balance
As a leader/manager, should you lead by example, modelling healthy behaviours such as taking breaks, using annual leave and setting boundaries on work hours to avoid late nights or excessive hours? Demonstrating this balance at the leadership level sets a powerful standard for employees to follow, showing them that prioritising well-being is both valued and encouraged.
Offering flexible working options, such as remote or hybrid work, flexible hours with core working times, or even compressed workweeks, is another way to support balance. Flexibility allows employees to recharge, pursue personal interests, and return to work more focused and resilient. This approach not only reduces stress and prevents burnout but also improves overall health and creates a positive, sustainable work culture.
Conclusion
Supporting employees in managing stress is essential to building a resilient, productive team. By recognising stress signals, fostering positive relationships, encouraging regular breaks, and offering flexibility, employers create a healthier work environment. Thoughtful workload management, mental health resources, and a focus on physical and mental wellness further ensure that employees have the tools they need to succeed.
Promoting work-life balance, recognising achievements, and setting a positive example at the leadership level strengthens engagement and prevents burnout. Prioritising employee well-being creates a sustainable culture where everyone can thrive.