Not all stress is bad: the difference between pressure that drives performance and stress that harms wellbeing

If all workplace stress were harmful, many of the experiences that drive performance, engagement and career progression would never happen – promotions, leading a team for the first time, delivering a major project, learning new skills or taking responsibility for high-profile clients, for example.

These experiences often involve uncertainty, accountability and the possibility of failure. They can feel uncomfortable, yet they’re also some of the most rewarding and developmental moments in a person’s career. The challenge for employers isn’t eliminating stress from work. It’s understanding when pressure helps people perform at their best and when it begins to undermine wellbeing, productivity and long-term organisational performance.

As organisations mark National Stress Awareness Day, perhaps the question isn’t how we remove stress from the workplace. It’s how we create the right kind of pressure while preventing it from becoming harmful.

The difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ stress

The word stress is often used as a catch-all term to describe everything from a healthy challenge to an overwhelming workload. In reality, not all stress is the same. Psychologists distinguish between two types of stress:

Eustress is the pressure we experience when facing meaningful challenges that feel achievable. It may involve ambitious targets, tight deadlines or unfamiliar responsibilities, but there is also a belief that success is possible. Distress occurs when the demands placed on an individual consistently exceed their perceived ability to cope.

The difference isn’t usually the challenge itself. It’s whether employees have the resources, support, time, clarity and control they need to meet that challenge successfully.

Why some pressure is essential

Many of the experiences people describe as the most rewarding in their careers involve pressure. These could be things like launching a new service, delivering a critical presentation, winning a significant piece of business or taking on a leadership role.

These moments can be uncomfortable, but they often strengthen confidence, capability and resilience. Employees are seldom motivated by objectives that are easy to achieve. People are more engaged when they’re stretched by meaningful challenges and believe they have a realistic opportunity to succeed.

The goal for employers therefore shouldn’t be to remove pressure from work. It should be to create an environment where people can perform under pressure without feeling overwhelmed by it.

The missing part of the conversation: recovery

When discussing workplace stress, organisations often focus on helping people perform through periods of pressure. Far less attention is given to recovery; yet sustainable performance depends on both.

Most employees can cope with periods of increased intensity. Problems arise when high pressure becomes the permanent state of work. Without opportunities to recover, even highly engaged and resilient employees can begin to struggle. This distinction is important: burnout isn’t typically caused by a single difficult week or demanding project. It’s more often the result of sustained pressure without sufficient time, support or opportunity to recover.

The most effective wellbeing strategies recognise that performance and recovery are not competing priorities; they’re interdependent.

When stress becomes harmful

The warning signs are often subtle. An employee who previously enjoyed tackling challenges may begin to appear increasingly fatigued. Concentration can decline, motivation may fall and  small frustrations become harder to manage. Over time, productivity, engagement and attendance can all be affected. Recent data highlights why this matters.

According to the CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work report, average sickness absence has risen to 9.4 days per employee per year, the highest level recorded in more than 15 years, while mental ill health remains the leading cause of long-term absence.¹ For employers, this is not simply a wellbeing concern. It’s also a productivity, talent and business performance challenge. Absence, presenteeism, disengagement and employee turnover can all be symptoms of sustained unmanaged stress. By the time issues become visible, the underlying causes may have been developing for months.

The crucial role of managers

Managers often determine whether workplace pressure feels motivating or overwhelming. Employees rarely object to being challenged. More often, they become frustrated by the obstacles that make success unnecessarily difficult. They might be faced with unclear priorities, conflicting demands, insufficient resources, constant interruptions, poor communication or a lack of decision-making authority. The same objective can feel energising or exhausting depending on how it’s managed.

Employees are far more likely to view pressure positively when they:

• understand what success looks like
• have clarity around priorities
• have some control over how work is delivered
• feel comfortable asking for support
• have realistic resources and timescales
• understand why the work matters

When these foundations are in place, challenge can drive engagement and performance. When they are absent, even a manageable workload can quickly become a source of distress.

Why employee benefits matter

While managers play a critical role in day-to-day support, benefits programmes provide an important foundation for employee resilience. Effective benefits are designed to help employees manage pressure, recover effectively and access support before issues escalate. This may include:

• employee assistance programmes (EAP)
• mental health support services
• virtual GP access
• occupational health support
• financial wellbeing guidance
• health screening and preventative health initiatives
• manager wellbeing training
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements where appropriate

The strongest wellbeing strategies recognise that employee support should be proactive rather than reactive.

Three questions employers should ask

When assessing whether workplace pressure is driving performance or creating risk, organisations should ask themselves three simple questions:

1. Do employees have clarity?

Do they understand priorities? Do they know what success looks like? Do they understand what matters most when competing demands arise?

2. Do employees have control?

Can they influence how work is delivered? Are workloads and expectations realistic? Do they have sufficient autonomy to manage competing priorities?

3. Do employees have support?

Are managers accessible? Are wellbeing resources easy to access? Do employees know where to go if they need help?

Where one or more of these areas are missing, healthy challenge is more likely to become harmful stress.

Sustainable performance matters more than short-term intensity

Many organisations have become highly effective at driving performance during periods of growth, change and uncertainty. The greater challenge is sustaining that performance over time. People can operate at full intensity for short periods but not many can do so indefinitely.

Cultures that celebrate constant busyness may appear productive in the short term, but prolonged pressure can eventually affect engagement, innovation, retention and organisational performance. The most successful organisations are the ones that understand when to challenge, when to support and when to provide space for recovery.

A question worth asking

This National Stress Awareness Day, organisations may benefit from asking themselves a simple question:

Are we helping employees navigate meaningful challenges, or are we making those challenges harder than they need to be?

There will always be pressure within ambitious organisations – career growth, innovation and organisational success all require people to step outside their comfort zones.

The objective is not to remove stress from work. It’s to create an environment where employees can meet those challenges without sacrificing their wellbeing. Sustainable performance is not built by eliminating pressure, it’s built by ensuring that pressure remains purposeful, manageable and supported.

Sources

¹ Health and wellbeing at work | CIPD