The ‘coping era’ has arrived at work – and employers may be missing the warning signs 

Employees logging on early, replying to messages late at night and working through illness have traditionally been seen as signs of commitment. But new research suggests they may instead be indicators of a workforce struggling to stay afloat. 

According to BHN Extras’ 2026 Coping Index, many UK employees are no longer thriving at work – they are simply coping. The research identifies what it describes as a growing “coping era”, where workers are managing increasing pressure through behaviours that can easily be mistaken for resilience or high performance.  

The findings raise important questions for employers at a time when organisations are grappling with burnout, productivity challenges and rising levels of workforce stress. 

Among employees classified as being “under pressure”, 60 per cent said they work while sick, 57 per cent regularly respond to messages outside working hours and almost a quarter (24 per cent) reported taking sick leave due to stress or burnout within the past three months.  

While such behaviours may appear positive on the surface, the report argues they can reflect a workforce operating in survival mode rather than one that is genuinely engaged. 

The distinction matters. 

For employees who are thriving, answering an occasional email out of hours may be a choice. For those under pressure, however, it is often driven by workload, expectations or a fear of falling behind.  

The research identified five distinct employee groups – Thriving, Satisfied, Coping, Struggling and Under Pressure – revealing significant differences in how people experience work. 

Only 6 per cent of thriving employees said they work while sick, compared with 60 per cent of employees under pressure. Similarly, just 8 per cent of thriving employees regularly respond to messages outside working hours, compared with 57 per cent of those experiencing high levels of pressure.  

The findings suggest many organisations may be relying on visible signs of commitment as indicators of engagement, when in reality they could be masking underlying wellbeing challenges. 

Perhaps most striking is the apparent disconnect between employer perceptions and employee experiences. 

While 90 per cent of employers believe they understand their workforce, 43 per cent of employees under pressure say they do not feel understood.  

The gap becomes even more pronounced when examining different levels of seniority. More than half (51 per cent) of C-suite leaders say they feel fully understood at work, compared with just 19 per cent of manual and semi-skilled workers.  

BHN Extras describes this as a “leadership bubble”, where senior decision-makers may be increasingly disconnected from the realities experienced by employees on the ground. 

The findings also challenge assumptions about employee benefits engagement. 

Workers under pressure were among the most likely to access support services, with 34 per cent using health cover, 28 per cent accessing gym or wellbeing discounts and 22 per cent using mental health support. Yet fewer than half reported making good use of their overall benefits package.  

The implication is that simply offering wellbeing support may no longer be enough. Relevance, accessibility and communication are becoming equally important factors in determining whether employees receive meaningful support when they need it. 

The employees most at risk are not always the ones visibly struggling. They are often the people who continue delivering, remain constantly available and rarely take time off.