Employers retreat as work stress peaks

To mark World Mental Health Day (10 October), a workplace wellbeing service provider conducted new research and found that employers are pulling back on workplace wellbeing support for employees, even as employee burnout rises.

New Leaf Health analysed Google searches for workplace mental health and found a widespread year-on-year decline in searches for employee support terms.

The analysis, conducted in September 2025 over 12 months, found that search terms within a range of areas have seen a decrease:

• Structural and management training: Searches for ‘mental health training for managers’ dropped by 56 per cent, while ‘workplace stress policy’ fell by 40 per cent.
• Wellbeing programs and services: Queries for ’corporate wellness programs’ plummeted by 72 per cent, ‘employee wellbeing initiatives’ dropped by 71 per cent YoY, and ‘workplace health checks’ fell by 57 per cent YoY.
• Core support infrastructure: Searches for ‘EAP service’ fell by 46 per cent, and employee assistance programme searches decreased by 16 per cent.
• Acute stress and burnout: Searches for ‘how to prevent burnout at work’ halved, while searches for ‘employee burnout symptoms’ and ‘corporate wellbeing platform’ both experienced a total decrease of 100 per cent.

While a portion of this search drop may be attributed to managers turning to generative AI platforms for instant advice, industry experts warn against treating AI as a substitute for professional workplace health infrastructure. While AI can outline basic concepts, it cannot deploy clinical Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), deliver accredited manager training, or fulfil statutory health and safety obligations.

Although this search activity suggests businesses are halting prioritising employee wellbeing, official workforce health data shows the real-world strain.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a record 964,000 UK workers are suffering from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety, accounting for 22.1 million lost working days and 62 per cent of all work-related ill-health. CIPD research also reveals that employee sickness absence has surged to 9.4 days per worker per year, the highest level recorded in over 15 years, with mental ill-health cited as the single leading cause of long-term absence.

Workplace wellbeing experts at New Leaf Health are warning that this deviation points to a dangerous ‘Corporate Silent Retreat’, where businesses, facing economic headwinds, are pulling back on wellbeing research and strategy at the precise moment employee burnout is peaking.

New Leaf Health stated: “Now, as budgets tighten, companies are quietly abandoning these initiatives altogether or attempting to substitute tailored, expert interventions with generic AI shortcuts. Businesses cannot afford to retreat. An AI tool cannot train a line manager to spot acute distress or replace confidential employee counselling. 

“Bypassing professional support leaves employees at risk of severe burnout, chronic stress, and long-term illness, while exposing employers to serious legal liabilities such as personal injury claims and health and safety regulatory breaches. Far from saving money, withdrawing support directly inflates sickness absence, lowers productivity, and drives up turnover costs.”

New Leaf Health has shared a guide on different strategies workplaces can implement for World Mental Health Day, helping companies transition from one-off gestures to long-term impact.