Stress & Wellbeing: What would change if we stopped treating people like they were machines?

We live and work in a world that increasingly values speed, productivity, and constant availability. Leaders are navigating growing complexity, uncertainty, and ever-increasing performance demands, making the pressure to keep up feel relentless. As the year draws to a close, the push to meet deadlines, finalise priorities, and prepare for the year ahead often adds another layer of pressure to an already demanding pace.

This year’s Stress Awareness Day theme, “Shaping the Future of Stress and Wellbeing: Rehumanising the Workplace”, invites us to rethink what a healthy, productive workplace really looks like.

For me, rehumanising the workplace starts with recognising that wellbeing isn’t an add-on or an employee benefit. It’s shaped by how we lead, how we work together, and how we treat one another every day.

It means asking ourselves some important questions:

• Do people feel safe enough to speak up when they’re struggling?

• Are we creating cultures where asking for help is seen as a strength, not a weakness?

• Are we making space for rest, reflection and recovery, rather than celebrating being permanently busy?

• Are we genuinely listening to people’s experiences and creating space for others to help shape the way forward?

• How do we develop leaders and teams who can confidently navigate complexity together?

And perhaps most importantly, are we addressing the causes of workplace stress, rather than simply expecting people to become more resilient?

As leaders, managers and colleagues, we all have a role to play. Sometimes it starts with a small but meaningful change: a conversation that makes space for honesty, or the willingness to question a way of working that is no longer serving people.

And perhaps that is why one of my favourite phrases in spontaneous dialogue, meetings and everyday conversations remains:

“Let’s pause and reflect…”

Coaching can also create a valuable space to pause, reflect, and explore new ways to navigate challenges, strengthen relationships, and support wellbeing.

We don’t have to choose between performance and people. When we create workplaces where people feel valued, supported and able to be themselves, we give them a better opportunity to thrive both personally and professionally.

Since today is International Stress Awareness Day, I invite you to reflect with me:

What is one thing you could do to make your workplace a little more human?