Industry News Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing

Three in ten UK workers struggle to switch off from stress after work

All Sectors

As Stress Awareness Week gets underway (2-6 November), new analysis suggests almost one in three UK respondents struggle to leave stress behind at the end of the working day, despite most recognising when they are under pressure. 

The findings, based on 19,819 emotional intelligence assessments completed by leadership and management training provider, MTD Training, suggest a significant gap between employees’ awareness of stress and their ability to manage its effects.

While 83 per cent of respondents said they could usually recognise when they were stressed, only 42 per cent reported being able to prevent stressful situations or people from affecting them after work.

Just 24 per cent said they rarely worried about work or life in general, while half disagreed with that statement.

The analysis also found that 30 per cent of UK respondents struggled to switch off from stress after work, the highest proportion among the 15 countries included in MTD Training’s international comparison.

Equivalent figures were 28 per cent in the United States and Australia, 24 per cent in India and 8 per cent in the Philippines.

However, the findings are drawn from people who voluntarily completed an online emotional intelligence assessment, rather than a nationally representative survey. The international comparisons should therefore be treated as indicative rather than definitive evidence of differences between national workforces.

The analysis draws on assessments completed between June 2022 and October 2026, with 90,232 responses included in the global dataset.

The assessment measures five areas of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

UK respondents scored highest for self-awareness, at 81 per cent, but lowest for self-regulation, at 65 per cent.

Among respondents who reported difficulty leaving stress behind after work, self-regulation scores fell to 56 per cent, compared with 69 per cent among those who could switch off.

Overall emotional intelligence scores were also lower among those struggling to disconnect, at 68 per cent compared with 76 per cent.

Other findings highlighted difficulties managing emotional responses. Just over half of respondents said they could quickly reframe a negative situation, at 54 per cent, or consciously change their mood, at 53 per cent. Fewer than half, 47 per cent, said they could quickly let go of anger.

Sean McPheat, CEO at MTD Training, said: “This data shows that most of us have become good at noticing when we’re stressed. It’s on our minds, we talk about it and we feel it. But what it also shows is that awareness on its own isn’t enough. Recognising stress is step one, but far fewer people have the practical skills to regulate it. That means reframing a bad day, letting frustration go, or switching off when they walk out of the door.

“The good news is that self-regulation can be learned. It isn’t a fixed personality trait. We’d encourage people and employers to move on from simply ‘being aware’ and start building the habits that close that gap.”

Although emotional regulation and resilience training may help employees manage difficult situations, these interventions need to sit alongside action on the organisational conditions contributing to stress.

Workload pressures, management practices, working hours and expectations around availability can all influence whether employees are able to recover and disconnect outside work.

The findings also underline the role of managers in creating psychologically healthy working environments, particularly through modelling appropriate boundaries, recognising excessive pressure and encouraging open conversations about workload.

Related News

The List, your Trusted Workplace Wellbeing Directory

A curated community where People Leaders find trusted Workplace Wellbeing providers, and providers find meaningful business.
Access The List Join The List