Stress is a serious problem in the workplace, as employee benefits consultancy Drewberry™ revealed in their 2024 Employee Benefits survey. The majority (91 per cent) of employees feel stressed at work and some even feel stressed about work outside the workplace.

Having stressed employees doesn’t bode well for your company. It’s detrimental to the physical and mental health of your staff, as well as the overall productivity of your workforce.

We’re going to explore how stress can impact your small business and the employee benefits to consider which will help you tackle the issue.

How does stress impact small businesses?

Stress can have a significant impact on a small business compared to a large corporation. It’s likely your business doesn’t have the same resources and staff numbers as a larger company. For example, if an employee is off sick because of stress, you’re a person down and this has the power to disrupt day-to-day operations.

Higher rates of absenteeism can cause financial hurdles for SMEs, including the cost of sick pay, covering extra wages for new or temporary employees, and even the possible loss of an important contract.

How to reduce stress in the workplace

It’s not just stress at work, Drewberry’s survey found that 83 per cent of employees either feel ‘frequently’ or ‘sometimes’ stressed outside of work. The most common reasons for this were family issues (47 per cent) and money (40 per cent).

As an employer, you’ve got a handy tool in your toolbox: your employee benefits package. You can support your employees and help reduce stress levels through the benefits you provide. Here’s how:

Allow staff to work flexibly

Allowing your staff to work flexibly helps them to create a better work life balance for themselves. Hybrid working models and remote work lets staff cut out their daily commute, saving both time and money.

Almost a third (32 per cent) of employees said ‘flexible working/hybrid working’ is the benefit they value most. It gives them more control over their schedules, which can lead to increased productivity and fewer sick days. As part of this, you can offer holiday trading, which allows staff to purchase more holiday if they wish.

Provide mental health support

A sizeable 31 per cent of employees said their mental health was a source of stress outside of the workplace. If an employee is experiencing poor mental health, this could affect their performance, productivity and number of sick days taken.

There are plenty of ways to improve mental health, including regular exercise, good sleep and a healthy diet. As an employer, you can offer mental health support by:

• Offering additional annual leave, e.g. a set number of ‘mental health’ days
• Promote any additional benefits that come with your existing benefits. For example, Group Life and Income Protection often come with counselling sessions that staff can use free of charge
• Offering your staff access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAPs), which provides a range of wellbeing services
• Promoting a culture of open communication and active listening
• Providing access to wellness apps that include meditation exercises, diet guidance, and fitness plans
• Offering discounted gym memberships

Implement core employee benefits

Implementing core employee benefits is one of the most effective strategies to support your team’s well-being. By offering a comprehensive benefits package, you not only alleviate some of the pressures that contribute to stress but also demonstrate a commitment to your employees’ overall health and financial security.

There are a range of core employee benefits you can offer to help your employees’ health and wellbeing.

Group Life Insurance (also called Death in Service) and Group Income Protection provides peace of mind to staff that financially they’re secure. This helps to alleviate some financial pressure and, as a result, stress. What’s more, by offering these types of benefits, you can address the needs of your employees. Our recent survey found benefits that protect the employee and their loved ones (such as Income Protection and life cover) were of value to them.

Other benefits to consider are Group Health Insurance or Corporate Health Cash Plans. These can reduce the stress of having to wait for medical care and treatment through the NHS. When your staff don’t have to wait too long to be seen by a healthcare professional, it can reduce any stress they may experience over their health.

Include financial education in your employee benefits

Considering money worries are a stressor for 40 per cent of staff, you can help relieve this by providing financial wellbeing benefits. It’s worth noting that a person’s mental health and their financial health are linked.

Here are some suggestions for supporting your employees’ financial wellbeing:

• Provide access to valuable financial education resources
• Implement benefits such as travel season ticket loans and discount schemes to help staff save some cash
• Offer debt management services and confidential stress helplines
• Increase your workplace pension contributions (60 per cent of employees would rather have enhanced pension contributions and fewer other benefits).

Communicate your benefits

Stress can come from all sorts of places – money worries, family responsibilities, health concerns, and more. That’s why offering great employee benefits is just the first step; the real impact comes when you clearly communicate what’s available. It’s not enough to simply implement these benefits – you need to ensure your team fully understands what’s on offer.

By clearly explaining the benefits you provide, you’re empowering your employees to make the most of them. When your team knows how to use these resources, they can better manage stress and improve their overall well-being. While stress may always be a part of life, as an employer, you can make a significant difference by offering not only the right benefits but also the guidance to use them effectively.

Read more

Avoid stress and burnout with these six healthy habits: infographic – The team at the UK Domain share six healthy habits that will ward off stress and burnout in small business owners