Stress in the Workplace Report 2024: The Disengagement Dilemma

About This Report

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Workplace stress – Leaders suspect it, employees feel it, and while general stressors are widely known, our research digs deeper to include the not-so-obvious triggers impacting today’s workforce.

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The Stress in the Workplace Report 2024: The Disengagement Dilemma reveals the hidden forces behind this escalating issue, from constant communication to blurred work-life boundaries, and more.

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Drawing on data from polling 1,400 US-based employees, we’ve set out to quantify the impact of these stressors on modern employees. By translating subjective experiences into measurable insights, we’ve been able to capture the impact of stress in the modern workplace, and how it’s quietly eroding productivity and retention in today’s organizations.

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This report provides organizations with the insights needed to understand how their employees currently feel so they can start addressing stress from every angle. The goal is to help leaders create more effective and meaningful engagement strategies that lead to healthier, more resilient workforces.

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Key Findings:
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• Our research found that the overwhelming majority of employees report feeling stressed at work, with many on the brink of leaving their jobs due to ongoing pressure and fatigue.
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• Unbalanced workloads, unrealistic expectations, and constant deadlines are the leading causes of stress for employees, affecting both desk-based and remote workers.
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• Constant work-related communication—especially outside regular hours—has become a key contributor to stress, with many employees reporting "inbox anxiety" and difficulty disconnecting from work.
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• Stress isn’t only affecting employee well-being; it is also dragging down productivity and work quality, as employees struggle to keep up with demands.
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• Our data indicates a need for organizations to rethink engagement strategies. It suggests a need for organizations to evolve beyond “wellness perks” to more systemic approaches, including balanced workloads, flexible work arrangements, and clear communication boundaries to better manage stress and retain talent.

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About Insightful

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Insightful’s workforce analytics software drives business growth by improving productivity, focus time, and workflows. Insightful is proven to increase productivity to 95%+, cut project resource needs by 70%, and save 18% on resource costs. Trusted by 5,100 brands and used by more than 210,000 people.

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[fs-toc-omit]Methodology

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We partnered with specialist research firm Pollfish to conduct an independent survey of 1,400 full-time employees across various industries in the U.S. Respondents fell into three age groups: 18–24 (19%), 25–34 (41%), and 35–44 (40%).
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The survey featured 30 questions designed to examine how stress impacts employee productivity and wellness.

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Here are some of the topics we explored:

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• Workload & expectations: Understanding how unmanageable workloads and unrealistic demands contribute to stress.
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• Workplace communication: Examining the role of constant work-related communication in increasing stress levels.
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• Impact of stress on personal life: Measuring how work-related stress spills into employees' personal time, disrupting sleep and leading to burnout.
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• Leadership styles: Assessing the impact of managerial practices, such as after-hours contact and micromanagement, on employee stress.
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• Coping mechanisms: Identifying the strategies employees use to cope with workplace stress, from exercise to mental health support.

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Our goal is to provide a comprehensive analysis of how employees feel, respond to, and deal with stress—and how modern workplace dynamics contribute to it. This report translates the data into clear findings and actionable insights. Outcomes are designed to help leaders understand and combat workplace stress to improve overall employee well-being and productivity.

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01: Workplace Stress is Reaching a Breaking Point

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Workplace stress is on the rise, becoming a constant for the vast majority of modern employees. As our research reveals, the pressure employees are feeling is often not fully articulated or understood by leaders—something this report sets out to address.
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An overwhelming 90% of employees report feeling stressed on the job. Regardless of location, both desk-based and remote workers are dealing with the same pressures, pushing workplace stress to alarming heights across all work environments.
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Even more concerning, 44% of employees are actively considering leaving their jobs within the next six months due to stress, and 50% have discussed their stress with their manager or HR.

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Without proper intervention, employers stand to lose their top talent, as well as the time and costs associated with hiring and training new employees.
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The statistics are eye-opening. So what exactly is going on, and what can employers do? Our research uncovers the main culprits behind the stress surge at work – like heavy workloads, blurred work-life boundaries, and constant communication.

Employees are left struggling to find the balance and prioritize the tasks that truly drive the most value. For employers, the challenge stems from the fact that stress caused by these factors is often unintentional and can easily fly under the radar without a mechanism for measuring and supporting stress levels.
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In the sections ahead, we’ll unpack key workplace stressors in detail, stripping them down to their roots. These insights present a real opportunity for leaders to recognize these hidden pressures in their own organization. We’ll also provide solutions and tools to tackle these stressors head-on and nurture a healthier, more productive work environment.
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02: The Biggest Drivers of Stress: Workloads, Expectations & Deadlines

Our data revealed that the most pressing sources of workplace stress are unmanageable workloads, demanding targets, and relentless deadlines:
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• 54% of employees point to their workload as the primary source of stress.
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• 40% are constantly battling tight deadlines.
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• 35% feel overwhelmed by the unrealistic demands set by management.

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When employees are overloaded with tasks, it can quickly lead to unrealistic expectations, as leaders may unintentionally set higher demands without recognizing the strain on the team. Tight deadlines further compound the issue, prompting employees to work under constant pressure, making it difficult to manage their workload effectively.

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This trifecta of stressors is a recipe for a high-pressure environment where employees feel overwhelmed by escalating demands. With limited downtime and difficulty disconnecting from work, many are nearing burnout. This articulates the constant balance to be had by managers—maintaining a high output environment without creating demands that negatively impact productivity.

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We also discovered that certain behaviors from both leadership and colleagues are adding fuel to the fire. For 32% of employees, after-hours contact from managers adds an additional layer of pressure, blurring the already fragile line between work and personal time. This erosion of boundaries means employees never truly switch off, driving stress even higher.

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Other team members also have a major impact. 62% of employees say that working with underperforming colleagues causes additional stress, which can lead to disconnect and disharmony within teams.
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With these insights, it becomes clear that employers must place careful thought and constant attention on workloads, expectations, and deadlines to maintain a healthy, productive workforce. As we’ll explore later in this report, this can be done by rethinking employee engagement in a way that benefits employees and employers alike.

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03: Work Communication Overload: A Major Stress Trigger

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As digital communication becomes the norm, especially with the rise of remote work, the pressure to always be available has intensified. Employees increasingly feel tethered to work at all hours, making it difficult to escape the constant flow of work demands.
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• 85% of employees say work messages (Slack, Teams, etc.) contribute to stress.
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• 86% have worked past 7 pm in the past week (19% every night).
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• 66% of employees have received emails or messages from their managers outside of work hours in the past week.

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The inability to unplug creates a cycle of ongoing stress, with employees feeling the need to remain responsive during their personal time. As a result, 58% of workers now feel anxious when opening their inbox, turning what should be a tool of convenience into a source of daily tension. Plus, 90% of employees say they get a sense of dread on Sundays due to the coming workweek.

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For many, this stress starts before the workday even begins, with 27% of employees admitting they check their work emails or messages while still in bed. While these modes of communication are necessary, an unchecked barrage of notifications can quickly erode the boundary between work and personal life, leaving employees with little room to decompress.

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The nature of modern, digital work is a systemic contributor to the prevalence of messages and emails after hours. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing that can be done. If finding ways to reduce employee stress is a priority for leaders, then our findings make it clear that organizations must revamp their communication practices and establish firm boundaries, giving employees the breathing room they need to disconnect and recharge.

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By addressing this head-on, companies can transform their communication tools into assets that enhance productivity and well-being, rather than sources of stress.

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04: How Stress is Dragging Down Productivity & Wellbeing

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Workplace stress is taking a significant toll on both employee productivity and overall well-being.

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• 80% of employees report that stress negatively impacts their productivity or quality of work.
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• 71% have missed at least one day of work in the past month.
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• 38% feel too stressed to complete their work to their fullest ability.

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These figures paint a stark image of the stress employees are feeling—and the impact it has on their wellbeing. This diminished sense of well-being isn’t just a personal issue, either. It has a wide-ranging negative impact on organizations. When almost three-quarters of your workforce is missing a day of work per month due to stress, how could it not?

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Our research also makes it clear that work-related stress doesn’t end when the workday does—it spills over into employees' personal lives. An overwhelming 82% of employees report that stress is disrupting their sleep. While 71% of employees have woken in the night thinking about work.

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The feeling of constant pressure and lack of downtime can drive employees toward burnout, affecting not only their performance but also their engagement and enthusiasm for work. As stress and disengagement build, it becomes more challenging to maintain a positive and productive environment.

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This stress-induced disengagement doesn’t just impact individual performance—it can also affect team dynamics and overall morale, making collaboration more difficult and productivity harder to sustain across the organization.

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What are employers doing about this? Recognizing the issue, employers have begun to implement well-being initiatives.

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• 47% of employers are now offering personal days.
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• 40% offer flexible work hours.
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• 34% are offering extra resources to get stress levels under control.
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• 33% offer health and well-being perks to reduce mental fatigue.
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• 29% are now offering counseling to help mitigate burnout and reduce stress.

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By bringing these issues to light, businesses can take action to build stronger team dynamics, improve morale, and create a more collaborative, productive workplace. Confronting these challenges is key to supporting the wellness of the workforce and ensuring the long-term success of the company.

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05: Coping with Stress: How Employees Are Managing

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Employees are turning to a range of coping mechanisms to manage the mounting pressures of workplace stress.

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• 57% of workers use exercise as their go-to method for stress relief.
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• 45% are incorporating meditation into their routines.
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• 31% are seeking professional therapy to manage the emotional toll of stress.

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However, there are some unique approaches to handling stress across different generations of workers. Younger workers, particularly those aged 18–24, often favor digital detoxes and mental health apps to disconnect from constant connectivity and regain control over their well-being.

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In contrast, older generations tend to rely on more traditional solutions, such as taking time off or engaging in therapy sessions. These generational differences could highlight the need for diverse wellness strategies within organizations to cater to varying preferences.

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Flexible work arrangements have also emerged as a critical stress-management tool, particularly among Gen Z and Millennial employees. Nearly 50% of employees in these groups prioritize flexibility—whether through remote work or flexible hours—as an essential strategy for reducing workplace stress. This ability to set personal boundaries and manage work-life balance is becoming increasingly important for maintaining mental health and overall job satisfaction.

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However, despite these coping strategies, a staggering 44% of employees are still considering leaving their jobs due to persistent stress. This stark figure highlights that while these solutions offer temporary relief, they fail to address the root causes of stress.

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What can employers do? The problem is not irreversible—here is what our survey respondents recommend:
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• 49% of employees say more flexible work hours can help reduce stress.
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• 48% say that more paid time off would help them prevent burnout.
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• 38% want more praise or feedback on their work.
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• 34% responded that less work is necessary to get their workloads under control and reduce stress.

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By implementing meaningful structural changes, organizations have the chance to create a more supportive work environment that boosts retention and fosters higher morale. We’ll dive into examples of new approaches organizations can take later in this report.

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06: How Leadership Practices Influence Workplace Stress & Mental Health

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Our study finds that leadership decisions, styles, and actions have a significant impact on workplace stress.
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• 41% of employees report that unreasonable workloads contributes to stress.
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• 34% of workers say lack of respect adds to their stress.
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• 32% of employees report managerial contact outside of work hours causes stress.

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More broadly, 61% of employees say they have had a toxic boss, defined by a combination of lack of respect, belittlement, and unrealistic demands. Toxic leadership styles undoubtedly contribute to poor company culture that drains morale and engagement. The insights in this report aim to shed light on workplace stress and promote empathy between employees and employers.

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Workplace stress doesn’t affect only employees. Micromanagement, for example, often stems from a lack of visibility into team workloads and capacity. This can easily snowball into unrealistic demands and excessive communication as managers struggle to stay on top of their team’s progress.

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However, with the right tools and data, leaders can start accurately gauging how much pressure their teams are under or where the bottlenecks lie. This facilitates better communication and targeted support, curbing stress and nurturing an environment where employees feel valued, engaged, and empowered to thrive.

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07: Rethinking Engagement: Flexibility & Support as the Path Forward

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As our research points out, stress is as pervasive as it has ever been in the workplace. Despite the increasing availability of well-being perks like foosball tables, pizza days, and wellness programs, stress levels in the workplace continue to rise. 68% of employees felt burnt out in the past year despite these well-being initiatives, and stress continues to disrupt productivity and focus​.

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The inverse trend between wellness perks and increased stress suggest that these surface-level perks, while well-meaning, aren't addressing the core issues employees face.

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Half of employees believe that more flexible work arrangements, such as remote work or flexible hours, are key to reducing stress​. This indicates that perks alone are no longer enough—employees need more autonomy and control over their schedules to better manage their work-life balance and reduce fatigue.

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Additionally, 48% of employees suggest that more paid time off is necessary to help them disconnect from work and recharge​. However, the real problem lies deeper than just offering more time off or temporary relief.

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Making things even more challenging to leaders is that stress is subjective. What causes one person stress, doesn’t for another. We all have different tolerance levels. This underlines the need for a way to objectively measure and address stress at the employee level.

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What employers really need is a new "engagement equation" that shifts focus toward meaningful, structural changes for long-term results. This includes:
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• Rebalancing workloads to ensure tasks are distributed evenly and prevent burnout.
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• Optimizing workflows by streamlining processes to reduce inefficiencies and minimize the stress caused by chaotic systems.
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• Establishing clear communication boundaries to limit after-hours messaging and set firm expectations for availability, allowing employees to fully disconnect outside of work.
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• Empowering employees with flexibility, offering remote work options and flexible hours to give them more control over their work-life balance.
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• Investing in mental health support by providing access to counseling, wellness programs, and other mental health resources to address the emotional toll of workplace stress.
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• Fostering a culture of autonomy & feedback, encouraging open communication and giving employees a say in how they work to improve engagement and well-being.
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Factoring these into the equation marks a shift from relying solely on perks towards a more holistic approach to employee engagement. Yes, today’s wellness perks may still be incorporated and appreciated, but they need to be viewed as complementary rather than central to employee wellbeing.

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How can employers achieve balance with this new engagement equation? The first step is to adopt an empathetic mindset, understanding the stress employees are currently under.

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The second step is to implement tools that can provide complete visibility and track the necessary metrics to properly measure engagement. These tools should offer a rich feature set that empowers employees to work more flexibly and autonomously, facilitating a healthier work model with sustainable productivity as its foundation.

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In doing so, companies will not only reduce turnover but also foster a more productive work environment that truly supports employees' mental health​.

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08: Leveraging Technology to Manage & Reduce Workplace Stress

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Technology holds a dual position in today’s workplace—it can intensify stress through constant connectivity, but it also offers powerful tools to create healthier work environments.

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While emails and messaging platforms can blur the line between work and personal life, companies have the opportunity to use technology strategically to relieve stress, streamline operations, and offer more flexibility to their teams.
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[fs-toc-omit]Workforce Analytics

Workforce analytics tools provide organizations with real-time insights into workload distribution and employee productivity. These tools can help identify patterns of stress and burnout risks, allowing management to make informed decisions to balance workloads and provide support where it’s needed most. Many capture both performance and stress levels, so companies can proactively address issues before they lead to disengagement or turnover.

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[fs-toc-omit]Automation & Task Management

Automation tools play a critical role in reducing workplace stress by minimizing repetitive, time-consuming tasks. Analytics can help identify tasks suitable for automation, freeing up employees to focus on more meaningful and creative work. By streamlining workflows and reducing bottlenecks, technology can significantly lower stress levels caused by inefficient processes, helping employees manage their time more effectively.

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[fs-toc-omit]Flexible Work Solutions

Technology also empowers employees by enabling flexible work arrangements. Tools that support remote work and flexible hours allow employees to better balance their personal and professional responsibilities, ultimately reducing stress. With the right infrastructure for flexible work, organizations can create environments where employees have more control over their schedules, leading to better work-life balance and improved well-being.

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When technology is implemented wisely, organizations can do more than just monitor and manage stress—they can build a culture of efficiency, flexibility, and genuine support that benefits overall organizational performance.

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10: Conclusion

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Although most leaders have a sense that stress is present in the workplace, with this report, we wanted to go deeper, looking at the prevalence and causes at a granular level, with the aim of creating a deeper understanding and putting forward new approaches to counter it.

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The Stress in the Workplace Report 2024: The Disengagement Dilemma has shed light on the escalating issue of workplace stress and its far-reaching effects on both employee well-being and productivity.

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Overloaded workloads, blurred boundaries between work and personal life, and unrealistic demands continue to weigh heavily on employees – despite the growing availability of workplace perks.

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Our data shows that 44% of employees are now considering leaving their jobs due to persistent stress. If companies want to retain their talent and safeguard productivity, it’s critical to tackle the problem at its roots.

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We’re not suggesting that there’s a world where no stress exists in the workplace. Some stress is a good thing if it comes from sources that are helping employees grow and push themselves. It’s the unnecessarily pervasive stress that this report aims to pinpoint and address.

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The most effective strategies for reducing stress involve shifting away from surface-level perks and embracing a new "engagement equation."

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Our research shows that by focusing on flexible work arrangements, implementing technology to streamline workflows, and providing real-time insights into employee well-being through analytics, organizations can foster a healthier, more balanced work environment.

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These actions are not no longer just about improving employee morale—they are vital to maintaining productivity, retention, and overall company performance.