A new report from training provider Corndel reveals that half of British employees regularly experience workplace anxiety, with many citing excessive workloads, time pressures, and difficulties balancing professional and personal commitments.
Younger workers are particularly affected, with 64 percent attributing their anxiety to poor management practices.
The issue extends to HR professionals, with one in five HR leaders experiencing workplace anxiety daily and half reporting it at least once a week. Despite 88 percent of HR leaders expressing confidence in their leadership and management training, employees continue to identify management-related factors as a source of stress.
Corndel’s 2025 Workplace Report highlights the widespread impact of workplace stress, noting that in 2023/24, 16.4 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. While many executives view geopolitical instability as the greatest risk to business growth, the report suggests that low morale, productivity issues, and absenteeism pose a more immediate threat to organisational sustainability.
Management Practices and Employee Well-being
The report indicates that younger workers are the most affected, with 64 percent of employees aged 18-34 reporting workplace anxiety at least once a week, compared to 32 percent of those aged over 55. Employees identified the primary sources of stress as heavy workloads and time pressures (54%), balancing work and personal life (36%), lack of clarity or direction from management (26%), and insufficient support or resources to complete tasks effectively (26%).
Poor management was cited as a key factor affecting productivity, with 31 percent of respondents stating it was a barrier to efficiency. A lack of resources (31%) and excessive meetings (29%) were also identified as productivity challenges.
Despite high confidence among HR leaders regarding existing training initiatives, only 43 percent of employees reported receiving resilience training in the past year, and 34 percent described it as minimal. While 84 percent of employees believe mental health support is critical to their job satisfaction and performance, 55 percent stated they had received no such training.
Leadership Training
The report suggests that organisations implementing work-life balance policies and leadership training are seeing positive results. Among HR leaders who have introduced measures to reduce workplace anxiety, 97 percent reported benefits from leadership training, 96 percent cited improvements from goal-setting initiatives, and 95 percent observed positive changes from work-life balance policies.
Amanda Blackmore, Director of HR and People at Corndel, said, “Workplace anxiety is a concern not just for employees but also for the leaders supporting them. Through my conversations with HR leaders across industries, I hear the same challenges – balancing employee wellbeing with workplace demands is a constant pressure. Many leaders find themselves managing the stress of their teams while also dealing with their own workload pressures and anxieties. This is where targeted leadership training makes a real difference.”
Research from McKinsey suggests that investing in measures for employee health, wellbeing, and human skills could unlock up to £9.1 trillion in global economic value, representing a potential 12 percent increase in global GDP. Even capturing 10 percent of this value could generate £912 billion annually.
Blackmore added, “We’ve seen that investing in leadership development not only helps leaders better support their teams but also strengthens their own resilience, leading to improved retention, morale, and productivity. In a climate where workplace anxiety is increasingly impacting people and performance, organisations that take proactive steps to embed leadership training with aligned well-being initiatives will have the competitive edge.”