In this article, our Executive Coach and Head of BD, Liz Beck, highlights some of the key ways organisations influence the levels of stress that employees face at work, and considerations for leaders to keep these levels to a minimum.
April is Stress Awareness Month, and what better time to look at what is really driving stress in the workplace?
A lot of the focus still sits with the individual employees. Build resilience. Manage your wellbeing. Find ways to cope. Those things matter, but they only go so far.
In reality, stress is often shaped by how an organisation operates day to day. The way priorities are set, how decisions are made, and how leaders show up all have a direct impact on how people experience work.
If we’re serious about tackling workplace stress, we need to look beyond coping strategies and examine the environment people are working in. Below, I explore some key considerations:
Clarity reduces unnecessary pressure
One of the most common sources of stress isn’t volume of work, it’s ambiguity.
When priorities aren’t clear, when expectations keep shifting, or when there’s no shared understanding of what “good” looks like, people end up carrying extra mental load. They spend time second-guessing, chasing alignment, and worrying about whether they’re focusing on the right things.
Clear priorities and consistent decision-making take that pressure away. They give people confidence in where to focus and help work move forward more smoothly and effectively.
Leadership behaviour sets the tone
People pay close attention to how leaders behave, particularly when things feel busy or uncertain.
Changes in pace, inconsistent messaging, or a reactive communication style can create tension across teams. Even small shifts can be noticed at every level.
On the other hand, leaders who stay clear and steady provide a sense of stability. Keeping direction consistent and communication measured helps people stay focused and grounded, even during more demanding periods or times of change.
You can’t out-train the environment
Wellbeing initiatives and resilience training are often introduced with good intent. But they rarely have the impact organisations hope for if the underlying environment remains the same.
If workloads feel unrealistic or priorities are constantly moving, people are usually responding to a system that’s difficult to navigate, rather than lacking capability.
Making changes to how work is structured and ensuring direction of travel is clearly prioritised tends to have a far greater effect than adding more support around the edges.
Create space to feel comfortable raising issues early
It’s rare that workplace challenges appear overnight. They tend to build gradually, which means there is usually an opportunity to address them early before things escalate.
But that all depends on whether people feel comfortable speaking up. In practice, this is shaped by everyday interactions, such as how feedback is received, whether concerns are taken seriously, and whether anything changes as a result. These all influence whether people choose to raise issues or stay quiet.
Unsurprisingly, problems are easier to resolve and far less likely to escalate when people feel that they can be honest (and be heard) earlier.
Sustainable pace drives better performance
Many organisations are operating at a consistently high pace. And while short periods of urgency can be productive, maintaining that level of intensity over a long time often leads to diminishing returns.
In reality, decisions can become rushed, mistakes increase, and people start to feel stretched and – as a result – demotivated.
A more sustainable pace enables better thinking, clearer task prioritisation, and higher-quality delivery and output. Taking a little more time to get things right at the outset often saves time later down the line.
A more practical, proactive way to reduce workplace stress
The most effective way to reduce workplace stress comes from creating an environment where people can do their best work without unnecessary friction.
Clarity, consistency, psychological safety, and a manageable pace all play a role in this — and even small improvements in these areas make a noticeable difference to how work feels day to day.
At Omny Group, we look at this through a simple lens:
- Clear direction (vision, strategy, priorities)
- Conscious leadership and aligned behaviours
- A culture that supports how work actually gets done
- Psychological safety that allows people to speak up early
When these elements are in place, stress tends to reduce naturally. Not because people are coping better, but because the environment is working better.
If stress is showing up in your organisation, it’s rarely just about individuals. It’s usually a signal that something in the system needs attention.
Get in touch to start a conversation about what that could look like in your organisation.
