Stress and burnout are seen as costly people issues which have to be managed, but can we think differently about stress to unlock organisational performance? Our Business Psychologists have created this new guide to help your organisation see stress differently, beat burnout, understand legal requirements, mitigate risks, and move towards a workplace that works better for everyone using our proven framework.
Workplace stress is often framed as a people problem: someone is struggling, someone is not coping, someone needs to be more resilient. But that view misses the bigger picture. Stress is not only an individual experience; it is also valuable organisational data and, when used well, can be a route to better performance.
If we think of employee stress levels like the pressure gauges on a complex machine, the gauges are not the fault; they are indicators that show where pressure is building, where a part of the system needs adjusting to run more smoothly, and where action is needed to stop the whole machine from breaking down. When pressure levels are too low this can highlight employees who may be bored and underused, at risk of rust-out, leading to frustration, disengagement and the exit door.
When stress appears repeatedly across teams, roles or parts of the organisation, it can reveal where ways of working are ineffective. People are not the problem to be fixed; their experience is the signal that helps organisations identify where work design, management practices, resources or communication may need to improve. Areas where the needle is firmly in the green, with employees who are coping well and being stretched enough to feel challenged and develop new skills, this shows what is working well and could be replicated elsewhere.
Instead of asking, “What is wrong with our people?”, organisations can ask, “What is our stress telling us about how work happens here?” This shift in perception opens the door to what is needed for work to feel like a well-oiled machine: redesigning workloads, clarifying priorities, improving manager capability, strengthening support and involving employees in change.
By treating stress as insight rather than as a problem in people, organisations can move from reactive wellbeing activity to meaningful system improvement. The result is healthier people, stronger engagement, lower absence and more sustainable performance.
If the needles are on red for too long, and workplace stress is left unaddressed, burnout can develop. It signals that pressure has become chronic and that the way work is organised is no longer sustainable. For organisations, that matters not only because of the impact on people, but because it directly affects performance, capacity and risk.
The World Health Organization describes burnout in ICD-11 as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterised by;
Burnt out employees are likely to have low energy, poor concentration, reduced motivation, feel almost numb, and may well be experiencing stress-related physical and mental health conditions. This is likely to affect absence, presenteeism, engagement, retention and significantly impact work performance.
Being unaware of, or ignoring, the warning signs of pressure build-up is the first mistake employers can make. Treating burnout as an employee issue is the second, which compounds the problem. Supporting the worker is important, but it is essential to address the work systems and structures as well.
Even if only one or a small number of employees are feeling burnt out, there may be many more people (close to) feeling the same way and this should be investigated, which is where a risk assessment comes in. This can highlight what might be causing the issue at workplace level, where things can be improved, and prevent the situation becoming any worse for other affected employees.
Supporting employees to build resilience is great, but it is only as impactful as spraying a bit of grease into the engine when key components are breaking down. We recommend a combined approach for greater positive impact:
Alongside the human and performance implications of stress and burnout, there is also a clear legal case for action. Employers have a duty to protect workers from work-related stress by assessing risk and taking appropriate action. The UK Health and Safety Executive defines stress as the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other demands placed on them, and expects employers to manage and reduce risks in the same way they do for physical health and safety risks.
A structured approach is therefore essential. Measuring stress risk across the right areas helps organisations understand where legal, operational and people risks may be emerging, and where targeted action is needed.
Two main pieces of health and safety law underpin this duty:
In practice, this means employers must:
If an organisation employs five or more people, the risk assessment must be recorded in writing. This is where a robust, organisation-level assessment can add real value.
Where employers are not meeting these legal requirements recent cases in the UK highlight the reputation damage and potentially severe financial penalties that can be imposed. Where individuals feel their health has suffered as a result of workplace stress they may bring tribunal claims against their employers which can run to hundreds of thousands of pounds or more if it is proven adequate processes were not in place. At organisational level a UK university was served a notice of contravention by the Health and Safety Executive in 2025 in relation to stress for inadequate risk assessments and failure to implement controls, having to pay the HSE a Fee For Intervention to address the issues.
At Robertson Cooper, we use the Six Essentials as an evidence-based framework for understanding how the work environment shapes wellbeing, stress risk and organisational performance. Developed by leading organisational psychologists, including Robertson Cooper founders Professor Sir Cary Cooper and Professor Ivan Robertson, the framework draws on academic research and the development of ASSET, a validated tool for assessing workplace stress risk. That work has evolved into Robertson Cooper’s Good Day at Work assessment, which helps organisations measure and address stress risk at team and organisational level.
We also deliver an evidence-based behaviour change pathway on Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout with modules for people teams, leaders, manager and employees designed to address and improve any areas of concern from a stress risk assessment, or to proactively reduce the risk of issues from occurring.
The Six Essentials represent key aspects of working life that support wellbeing and performance when they are working well, but become pressure points when they are not. In that sense, they act like the pressure gauges described above: helping organisations see where work is functioning effectively, where risk is building, and where action is needed.
Getting the conditions right across these areas helps create an environment in which people can feel and perform at their best. When one or more of the Six Essentials is out of balance, the risk of stress and burnout rises and performance can suffer. Measuring these areas gives organisations a practical way to see what is helping, what is hindering and where improvement efforts should be focused.
The Six Essentials provide practical levers for change. Whether you are looking to strengthen team performance or improve conditions across the wider organisation, the framework helps focus attention on the areas that matter most. Here is a simple way to use it to identify priorities, take action and monitor progress.
Reflecting on how you and your team experience work across these six areas is the first step towards meaningful action.
The tips below can help you turn insight into action and create a plan that is realistic, focused and effective:
Establish what you are able to control or influence: Some pressures sit outside your control. Focus your efforts on what you can change, and identify which issues may need to be escalated or
Build in time to review progress against your action plan so you can see whether your efforts are having the intended impact. This helps maintain momentum, strengthen accountability and address barriers early. At each review point, reflect again on how you are experiencing the Six Essentials. Pressures change over time, so your action plan may need to change with them.
Think about how this applies in your own workplace. Use stress as insight into how work is functioning, not simply as an individual issue to be solved. Adopt the Six Essentials as a framework to measure and address stress risk, identify pressure points, optimise performance, reduce the likelihood of burnout and strengthen your approach to legal compliance.
If you think our assessment including the Six Essentials or our stress and burnout pathway might help your workplace see stress as a performance tool, beat burnout or meet legal requirements we’re always happy to have a chat to explore how we can work together.
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