High level key findings:
- Workplace stress remains widespread: 91% of employees reported high or extreme pressure or stress in the past year.
- The age gap is shifting: workers aged 25–34 now the most likely to report high or extreme stress, at 96%.
- Young workers remain under acute pressure: 93% of 18–24-year-olds experienced high or extreme stress, and 39% needed time off due to poor mental health.
- Support after burnout is often weak: among those who took time off due to stress or pressure, 27% received no support on returning to work.
- Formal recovery planning is rare: only 17% had a formal return-to-work or burnout recovery plan in place.
- Women are disproportionately affected: 96% of women reported high or extreme stress in the past year, compared with 86% of men.
- Menopause has emerged as a significant factor: 68% of women aged 45–54 said perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms had contributed to burnout.
- Many employees still do not feel safe speaking up: 35% said they are not comfortable telling their manager or senior leader they are experiencing high or extreme stress.
Mental Health UK’s 3rd annual report (Burnout Report 2026) paints a strong picture of workplace stress across the UK.
Rather than treating burnout as a personal resilience issue, the report frames it as a workplace design and support issue. Prevention, early intervention and structured recovery all matter if organisations want to reduce burnout and support sustainable performance.
Stress remains widespread, but the age profile is shifting
One of the clearest findings in the report is the widening age gap. Adults aged 25–34 are now the most likely to report high or extreme stress, with 96% affected in the past year, overtaking the 35–44 age group from the previous report.
At the same time, 18–24-year-olds continue to face some of the most serious effects. In this group, 93% reported high or extreme stress, 39% said they had taken time off due to poor mental health, and 39% said they would not feel comfortable telling a manager or senior leader they were struggling.
There are several different workplace and outside pressures affecting younger workers, including high workloads, job insecurity, isolation, poor sleep and money worries. Mental Health UK is clear that this should not be seen as generational weakness, but as a response to the wider pressures many younger workers are facing.
The gender gap has widened too
The report also highlights a widening gender gap. Almost all women surveyed (96%), said they had experienced high or extreme pressure or stress in the last year, compared with 86% of men. Women were also more likely to say they felt uncomfortable raising high stress levels with their manager.
A new insight: Perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms contributing to burnout
A new insight in this year’s research is the role of perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms. For the first time, Mental Health UK asked whether these symptoms were contributing to burnout, and 68% of women aged 45–54 agreed that they were.
Back to work after burnout is where support often breaks down
Support often falls away after someone returns from burnout-related absence. Among workers who had taken time off due to high or extreme pressure or stress, 27% said they received no support on return. Only 17% said a formal return-to-work plan or burnout recovery plan had been put in place.
Even where some support was available, it was often limited. Just over one in four said flexible or reduced hours were put in place, 17% had a phased return, 16% were offered remote or alternative work environments, and only 11% said they had regular check-ins with their manager about wellbeing.
The report warns that this can create a return to “business as usual” before recovery is secure, increasing the risk of relapse.
Employers who successfully support people back to work tend to use phased returns, flexible working options, clear communication and regular wellbeing check-ins.
Three-stage response to burnout
The report structures its recommendations around three stages: prevention, early intervention and recovery. This framework moves the discussion away from reacting only once someone has already reached crisis point.
1. Prevention: keeping people well and in work
This stage focuses on reducing the conditions that make burnout more likely in the first place. The report calls for employers to create a clear mental health strategy, support healthy work-life balance, keep workloads manageable and regularly assess stress and burnout risks.
2. Early intervention: spotting extreme stress before it escalates
Here the emphasis is on manager capability and everyday conversations. Mental Health UK recommends training managers to recognise and act on burnout early, and normalising conversations about workload and wellbeing through regular check-ins.
3. Recovery: supporting a safe and sustainable return to work
The final stage focuses on what happens after absence. The report recommends treating mental health recovery with the same seriousness as physical health recovery, putting structured return-to-work support in place, and reviewing plans consistently rather than allowing support to fade after the first few weeks.
Further recommendations for employers
Beyond the report’s focus on prevention, early intervention and recovery, employers should also look at the wider factors that influence whether those approaches succeed:
- Build a culture where stress can be discussed openly
- Make mental health support feel meaningful and visible
- Give managers the tools and time to support people properly
- Strengthen onboarding, mentoring and peer support
- Recognise the different pressures affecting different employee groups
- Reduce isolation through more consistent connection and communication
- Listen to employee feedback on what support is actually helpful
- Review whether wellbeing activity is leading to real support in practice
Why this matters
The report identifies a gap between intention and day-to-day reality. Almost one in five workers said mental health is treated as a tick-box exercise, one in ten said it is not prioritised at all, and nearly three in ten said awareness is raised but managers lack the time, training or resources to offer meaningful support.
Recommendations for employees
If you are experiencing ongoing stress or recovering from burnout, the report highlights a number of practical steps that can help:
- Create a personal wellbeing plan so you are clear on what supports your mental health at work.
- Recognise early signs of stress or burnout, such as poor sleep, irritability, low energy, difficulty concentrating or feeling overwhelmed.
- Speak up early if pressure is building, rather than waiting until stress becomes unmanageable.
- Be open with your manager about what is affecting your wellbeing, where you feel able to do so.
- Set realistic boundaries around workload, working hours and availability.
- Break recovery into manageable steps rather than expecting to return to full capacity immediately.
- Use any support available through your employer, such as an Employee Assistance Programme, wellbeing resources or occupational health.
- Prioritise the basics that affect resilience, including sleep, exercise, routine and nutrition.
- Build in time to pause and recover during the working week, especially during busy periods.
- Acknowledge small wins during recovery instead of measuring progress only by productivity.
- Ask for regular check-ins if you need clearer support or more consistent communication.
- Seek external support where needed, including from a GP, therapist or mental health charity.
Where structured systems can support employers
As health and safety software providers, we see a clear overlap between the report’s findings and the wider challenge of managing workplace risk in a structured, consistent way.
Work-related stress and burnout may be people-centred issues, but they still depend on strong processes, clear ownership and consistent follow-through.
Employers looking to move beyond awareness alone may benefit from systems that help them:
- Capture concerns earlier through self-assessment tools that give employees a way to reflect on how they are coping and raise issues sooner
- Assess work-related stress triggers using risk assessments to review pressures linked to workload, roles, teams or working conditions
- Keep key information accessible by storing policies, guidance, support documents and return-to-work plans in a central document management system
- Track actions and follow-up through task management tools that help make sure agreed actions, check-ins and support measures are completed
- Improve consistency by giving managers and teams a clearer process for identifying risks, recording concerns and reviewing support over time
- Strengthen accountability by making it easier to see what has been agreed, what is outstanding and where further intervention may be needed
Software is not a solution to burnout in itself. But it can help employers put more structure, visibility and accountability around how stress-related risks and support processes are managed.
