Stress Awareness Month: Why prevention needs to start earlier

One in three employees are extremely affected by stress, with the biggest gains in productivity and absence reduction linked to preventative support.

Stress remains the leading factor undermining wellbeing, affecting 82% of employees according to the latest Health at Work report, up from 75% previously. More than one in three are extremely affected, while 72% experience work-related stress, compared to 63% before.

The nationwide survey also found preventative approaches make a measurable difference. Employees given proactive wellbeing support feel eight times more productive, are twice as likely to take no sick leave and twenty times less likely to want to leave their employer.

But what does a preventive wellbeing strategy look like when it comes to stress reduction? Why isn’t counselling always the answer and what do employees actually need?

Five ways to build a preventative stress reduction strategy

One in three (34%) of employees extremely affected by stress
82% extremely or somewhat affected by stress (up from 75% in 2021)
72% affected by workplace-related stress (up from 63% in 2021)
Women significantly more stressed (85% compared to 76% of men)
Proactive wellbeing support makes employees feel eight times more productive, twice as likely to take no sick leave and twenty times less likely to want to leave

Source: Health at Work Report 2025

1. Encourage employees to focus on prevention

Prevention relies on employees recognising when something isn’t quite right. Yet all too often, people experiencing stress write this off as a “difficult patch” or “something they just need to get through” rather than reaching out for timely support.

Some stress can be helpful, sharpening focus during an important challenge, but when pressures accumulate – I can’t pay my bills, I’m too worried to be a good partner, I need that promotion, I can’t fix the car – the stress response become constant.

Chronic stress floods the body with the stress hormone cortisol, contributing to sleep issues, fatigue, memory problems, weakened immunity and even musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. By educating employees to recognise these signs and encouraging them to seek support sooner, organisations can start to shift the dial from reaction to prevention.

2. Recognise counselling isn’t always the answer

Given NHS waiting times and the cost of private care, many employers view immediate access to counselling as the gold-standard of mental health support. As a result, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) are often positioned primarily as counselling or even crisis helplines.

The problem with this approach is that most people at the preventative stage don’t see themselves as being in crisis or as having a mental health issue. In many cases, counselling isn’t what they need first. Instead, they need, practical, accessible support to help them unpick what’s overwhelming them and reduce pressure early.

This is where the broader role of an EAP becomes important. Effective EAPs provide multiple routes into support, recognising that prevention often starts with small everyday interventions rather than just therapy.

Alongside counselling and practical advice via a helpline, employees may also benefit from discreet, on-demand digital support that helps them pause, reset and regain balance. Access to resources such as mindfulness tools, sleep support and nutrition guidance can enable individuals to take proactive steps before stress escalates into more complex or clinical issues.

EAPs remain a vital part of the support pathway, offering practical guidance on challenges issues such as finances, relationships, legal concerns and caring responsibilities. However, when EAPs are framed solely as counselling or crisis lines, employees are far less likely to engage with them early, when preventative support can make the greatest difference.

3. Equip managers to act early and refer appropriately

Even when practical support exists, without real culture change many employees will still attempt to push through until they can no longer cope. This can show up as becoming more tearful, defensive, mistake-prone, forgetful, run down or simply exhausted.

Managers play a critical role in spotting these early warning signs, which requires curiosity and regular, human-check-ins.

This isn’t about managers attempting to counsel or diagnose the employees. It is about offering kind enquiry, listening well, and confidently signposting people to the right support at the right time.

To support this, organisations should equip managers with simple guidance on conducting wellbeing check-ins and provide a clear one-page referral pathway so early conversations lead to timely action.

4. Embed prevention into policies and procedures

A preventative approach also requires a shift in how and when support is triggered. Many absence policies still rely on intervention only after an employee has gone off sick.

Our research into The Benefits of Early Intervention found that a third of managers wait until an employee has been off sick for at least a month, before referring them into occupational health. By this point, the likelihood of the employee still being in work a month later drops to just 53%, compared to 91% when referrals are made while the employee is still in work.

Delays can also occur when additional psychological support, such as trauma therapy is needed, but lengthy approval processes are required. In response, more employers are adopting ‘delegated authority’ models, enabling providers to act quickly in the employee’s best interest, with outcomes tracked against absence and recovery metrics.

5. Personalise your approach to different demographics

Stress is not experienced equally across the workforce. Women are significantly more likely than men to be stressed, (85% compared to 76%), due to feeling overwhelmed (40%), worries about their physical appearance (46%) and feeling inadequate compared to others (34%).

These pressures may seem trivial, but reflect deeper societal and personal expectations, as well as unequal caring responsibilities, that are impacting on base stress lines. This makes it important for organisations to consider support tailored to different demographics.

Younger employees (18-34) who are leading increasingly solitary lives, living away from family and community support networks, are significantly more likely to experience stress than those over 55 years old (85% compared to 62%). They are also three times more likely to seek support via AI, making it important to offer online support, such as EAP live chat options, speaking immediately to a qualified professional alongside more traditional talking therapies alongside more traditional talking therapies.

Conclusion

Prevention isn’t about adding more support, it is about offering the right support at the right time. By changing the narrative around stress, equipping managers to act early, embedding prevention into policy and offering accessible, layered support, organisations can move from reacting to stress to catching people before they fall.

Combining occupational health services with a modern EAP, including digital wellbeing support, enables employees to get the right help they need earlier, reducing absence and supporting long-term wellbeing.

Nicola Jagielski is Clinical Director for PAM Group

How can PAM Group help?

Our proactive approach to managing absence prevented two-thirds of employees referred into our occupational health services from going absent, according to our latest data analysis.

Don’t wait until your people go off sick. Find out how proactively supporting people to stay in work can help you reduce absence and boost wellbeing.

About PAM Group’s EAP

PAM Group’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) supports over 1.5 million employees in the UK.

Available 24/7, the EAP provides confidential access to:

Telephone and online counselling with BACP-accredited counsellors
Practical support for emotional, financial, legal or eldercare issues.
Digital resources via our wellbeing app, including mindfulness tools, sleep support and nutrition guidance.

Providing employees with confidential space to talk and practical coping strategies has led to an average 57% reduction in anxiety levels (GAD-7 scores after PAM counselling, 2025).

For more information visit pamgroup.co.uk/eap