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Work stress has reached crisis levels across every generation. Employees' work stress has an outsized effect on the business, eroding productivity, absenteeism and retention.
For the employees themselves, this stress doesn't evaporate when they take the elevator down from the office. Work stress often follows employees home, negatively impacting their mental health, sleep, diet and interpersonal relationships.
But the rise in work stress isn't an insurmountable problem. HR and benefits professionals should consider applying these five strategies to mitigate its impact:
1. Focus on progress – not perfection – in pursuing a redefined work-life balance
Employers must foster an environment where employees feel comfortable identifying their priorities and creating space away from work – both physically and mentally.
Employers can build structures and policies that support basic needs, which contribute to our collective mental health. What seems like small accommodations are actually foundational to building and promoting employee resilience and longevity. For example, employers should encourage employees to eat during their shifts, and allow time to do so. Although sleep takes place outside of working hours, employers can provide education and resources to aid sleep hygiene and quality sleep. They also can reinforce the value of work-life boundaries (e.g., not expecting employees to send communications at night or outside of work hours), thereby promoting the value of rest.
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2. Leverage the power of relationships and human connection
Improved mental health relies largely on finding and building social connections in our lives. Time spent working dominates a significant amount of our waking hours: about one-third of our lives. It also serves as an optimal setting for facilitating connection.
The No. 1 benefit that drives nearly all employees (regardless of generation) is finding a sense of community and belonging. In Headspace's 2024
In today's increasingly virtual workplaces, it is imperative to begin on day one of an employee's journey, by creating a warm onboarding experience that includes dedicating time to large and small team meetings, to introducing and celebrating new employees joining the organization. Additionally, leaders need to recognize the value of in-person connection even within virtual work settings. Companies that are completely virtual should find ways to create in-person moments throughout the year, or what I call "social booster shots."
Lastly, foster strong employee resource groups (ERGs) that allow employees to connect with others who have shared interests and identities. These groups reflect an organizational investment in supporting employees to bring their full selves to work, while creating an inclusive workplace community.
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3. Encourage peer-to-peer and intergenerational mentorship
It's remarkable how people of all generations form unexpected friendships with colleagues and connect in ways they might not typically outside of work. As someone who sits on the cusp of a generation – between millennials and Gen X – I've experienced first-hand the power of connecting with co-workers across all age demographics. When Taylor Swift dropped her latest album, I was just as giddy as some of my Gen Z colleagues to swap favorite songs.
Cross-generational mentorship provides an added benefit of pairing those with different points of view and work history positionality, leading to invaluable learning and growth that flow both ways. However, for them to be a success, mentoring models must be offered with greater intentionality: managers and organizational leaders can enable mentorship by connecting employees or pointing them in the direction of a colleague who is open to mentoring and has beneficial, shareable skills (i.e., professional development, leadership, wellness, etc.).
4. Explore modernized EAPs to provide mental health support for employees
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are designed to provide immediate access to employees struggling with their mental health, but the reality is that EAPs are terribly underutilized, with engagement rates generally hovering around 3% to 5%, and often lower.
Effective EAPs help employees take care of their mental health before it reaches a breaking point. They have a greater chance of utilization when they go beyond traditional therapy support. That means providing real-time access to a coach and self-care content, such as mindfulness practices and other skill-building exercises. Mental health is not linear, and employees will have varying needs at different points throughout their lives. With a comprehensive EAP offering, employees are able to access the right level of care at the right time.
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5. Share the load between employees and employers
People don't show up for work as clean slates. They are coded with genetic vulnerabilities, differences in the prenatal environment and early childhood experiences that collide with the stressors of life events. The combination of these variables plays a significant role in the quality and durability of our mental health and resilience.
Work has an outsized role in contributing to the stress in our lives, but the stress resolution can't rest exclusively on employees' shoulders. Employers have to recognize their role in the mental health dynamic and do their part to help. Leaders need to be cognizant of the amount of stressors that are embedded in an employee's work structure and seek to reduce the workplace total stress quotient through practices like clear communication, promotion of employees utilizing time off, and ongoing system improvements to reduce tasks and administrative burdens.
Agile businesses need to take a proactive, rather than a reactive, approach to employee mental health. It is in employers' best interests to find common ground, foster greater community and in turn, create happy, healthy workplaces.
