Employers urged to tackle root causes of stress and stop 'papering over cracks' with wellbeing perks

Employers are being urged to tackle the causes of stress and other health issues facing workers rather than “papering over the cracks” with wellbeing perks.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) published a report that it said exposed a sharp global rise in workplace health and wellbeing challenges and a widening gulf between good intentions and genuine impact.

Its research in 22 countries, including the UK, suggested workforces under mounting pressure.

Mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression were said to be the most common challenge facing their employees.

Businesses continue to rely on reactive benefits such as lifestyle perks and one‑off incentives while leaving fundamental issues such as job design, workload, working hours, organisational culture and psychosocial hazards largely unaddressed, said the report.

Ruth Wilkinson, IOSH’s head of policy, said: “These findings tell us that employers are committed to investing in worker health and wellbeing, yet problems are still occurring.

“It means the action and investment to date is not having the desired impact – it is not getting to the root cause and preventing the harm from happening.

“For this reason, employers need to take a proactive approach and this starts with prevention.

“Too many organisations still lean on reactive measures or wellbeing ‘add‑ons’, while the real issues driving harm go unaddressed. Prevention must be embedded into the systems, culture and leadership of every organisation.

“That means strong, visible commitment from the top, clear communication, and creating workplaces where people feel psychologically safe to raise concerns. Only then can we shift away from firefighting and build genuinely healthy, safe, sustainable and resilient working environments.

“Our findings make one message unmistakable: the future of workplace health and wellbeing cannot be built on perks, posters or token initiatives.”

The IOSH report said employers should stop “papering over cracks” with wellbeing perks.