More than half of UK workers making mistakes at work due to stress, research finds 

More than half of UK workers say stress is causing them to make mistakes at work, according to new research highlighting the growing impact of workplace pressure on productivity and employee wellbeing. 

The Workplace Silent Stress Survey 2025 found that 52.6 per cent of respondents had made errors at work because of stress, while one in four said they had called in sick at least once due to how stressed they were feeling. 

The findings come as the Health and Safety Executive published its latest figures showing that 964,000 workers experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety in the past year. 

The survey, conducted by workplace health and safety training provider Astutis, questioned 553 people across the UK. It also found that stress is affecting day-to-day performance and working relationships, with 28.5 per cent of respondents saying they had missed deadlines due to stress and almost a third (32.9 per cent) reporting clashes with colleagues. 

Astutis said the results point to a widespread problem that is costing employers millions of pounds each year through lost productivity, sickness absence and staff turnover. 

Despite the scale of the issue, the research suggests many employees do not feel able to speak openly at work about how they are feeling. Fewer than one in twenty respondents (4.7%) said they would talk to their manager about stress-related concerns, while just 1.3% said they would raise issues with senior leaders. 

Instead, more than half said they were more likely to confide in friends or family, rather than anyone within their organisation. 

Steve Terry, managing director at Astutis, said the findings point to a workplace culture where employees feel unsafe raising concerns. 

“These numbers portray a widespread workplace culture where employees may feel unsafe to raise stress-related concerns, preferring to suffer in silence,” he said. 

While informal support can help emotionally, Terry warned it does little to address the underlying causes of stress at work. 

“Friends and family can offer emotional support, but they have no power to implement changes to workloads or processes,” he said. “It is management that is positioned to address the root causes that often underpin stress.” 

Astutis is urging employers to review internal processes and workplace culture, and to focus on creating environments where employees feel able to speak openly with managers and leaders about stress. 

The organisation said tackling stress proactively could benefit both employers and employees, reducing the cost of lost working hours and turnover while helping workers feel more supported and valued in their roles.