A new study has found that stress may be hampering attempts to raise productivity and make British business competitive. Stress has become such a problem that it is costing the economy £1.24 billion…

New research suggests a hidden cost of workplace pressure, with hormones potentially offering clues to what happens next.

This might sound like a fairy tale, but it’s not . . .

Give yourself a buffer between stressful tasks to boost resilience.

Leisure sickness may explain why illness strikes as holidays begin. New UK data links the pattern to overwork, stress and poor recovery.

Companies should give new employees health MOTs to help fix the nation’s sickness crisis, Charlie Mayfield said on Friday (3 July).

Mental health problems keep people off work around five times longer than other types of injuries.

A recent Canadian study examining 2,871 workers over ten years highlights that not all healthy behaviours protect equally against the negative effects of chronic work stress. Researchers evaluated five lifestyle factors outside work—nutrition, exercise, sleep quality, alcohol use, and smoking frequency—to see which buffered the impact of sustained stress on overall health. The study found that sleep quality provided the strongest protective effect, supporting emotional regulation, recovery, attention, and self-control. Nutrition also offered meaningful stress-buffering benefits. Interestingly, regular exercise improved general health but did not significantly reduce the effects of work stress once other behaviours were considered. Alcohol use showed unexpected patterns: lower consumption correlated with better overall health, but higher stress had a stronger negative impact on those who drank less. This does not imply that drinking protects against stress; other unmeasured factors likely explain this finding. The study emphasizes that while certain behaviours can support resilience, they cannot replace organizational responsibility. Workplaces must reduce excessive workloads, allow real breaks, and design schedules that protect employees’ recovery. For workers, prioritizing sleep and maintaining good nutrition can help mitigate stress-related health impacts, but structural changes in work remain essential for long-term health.

TikTok video by Scott Lanthier

An uncertain economy has slowed down hiring, which is stressing out employees. Here's what's happening.