How managers can combat stress in the workplace

It's no secret that work can be a source of stress, not only for an employee, but their entire family as well. But do employers know just how damaging this stress can be?

According to a Headspace survey, 77% of workers claim that work stress negatively impacts their physical health, while 40% say it contributes to existing mental health challenges, like substance use; over 70% say it has even caused personal relationships to end. Stress can completely warp someone's life — and it's unlikely that employees will remain loyal to a company that has caused them that much harm, underlines Dr. Jenna Glover, chief clinical officer at Headspace.

"When a work setting has a degrading quality on life, that's a sobering moment for an employee," she says. "They might consider whether this [job] is sustainable. Is this a place where they can continue to work?"

Read more: 5 foods you can add to your diet to combat stress

Dr. Glover acknowledges that stress can be a tool to help an individual react and adapt to an unfamiliar situation. However, when an individual is in a chronic state of stress, the body is flooded with cortisol, a hormone that regulates different processes in the body, like immune response and metabolism. Too much of a good thing means those essential functions are thrown into chaos, explains Dr. Glover. 

"When cortisol is flooding the body constantly, our immune system suffers, our sleep patterns are disrupted and we're more likely to see weight gain or loss," she says. "To be in constant fight or flight is disruptive and dysfunctional."

Dr. Glovers asks employers to consider whether their work culture contributes to a constant state of stress for employees and what their turnover rate looks like. She notes that every company will need to make different changes, but there are several basic practices that employers can start incorporating into management.

Read more: How this virtual clinic helps employees manage their substance addictions

"Train your managers so they know how to check in with employees about obstacles they're dealing with at work," says Dr. Glover. "When stress continues to go up, that should be a signal that managers need to do something to help that employee. The second thing employers need to do is ensure there are boundaries where work ends."

This means no one is expected to answer messages or emails after work hours, and vacations and sick days are kept work-free. Dr. Glover points out that if someone sends her a work message during dinner and she knows she has to reply, her stress response will likely be activated. Especially in a remote work world, managers need to enforce disconnection and encourage a focus on wellness: Headspace found that 53% of employees who said they took time to work on their mental health outside of work noticed that their stressors had less of an impact on them. 

Read more: Can AI solve the mental health crisis?

Dr. Glover underlines that the general perception of mental health has changed a lot in the last four years. The number of company leaders who openly talk about their mental health challenges went from 35% in 2020 to 89% in 2024. As mental health becomes less of a taboo topic in the workplace, Dr. Glover hopes more employers will invest in their employees' well-being and resilience, even in small ways like required meal breaks and mental health days.

"I don't think anybody has gone through the last four years without having a mental health problem," says Dr. Glover. "And the more you're hit with changes, the more you have to dip into that resiliency bank account — employers have to invest back into that account."