Spotting Stress in Your Team
Managers do not need to diagnose stress, but they do need to notice when something changes. Here is how to spot early warning signs and start a supportive workplace conversation.
A practical guide for managers | Stress Awareness Month 2026
Stress Awareness Month takes place every April. For managers, it is a useful reminder that spotting stress early is not an optional extra. You are often the first person in a position to notice when someone is struggling, and what you do next can make a real difference.
This year's theme is #BeTheChange, a prompt to move from awareness into action. This post is about exactly that: the practical skill of noticing, and knowing what to do next.
Why managers are better placed than they think
Many managers hesitate to raise concerns about stress because they are not sure it is their place, or because they worry about getting it wrong. Both concerns are understandable, but both underestimate what managers already do.
You see your team regularly. You know what normal looks like for each individual. That baseline knowledge is something occupational health services, GPs, and HR teams simply do not have. Spotting a change in someone's behaviour or performance does not require clinical training. It requires attention, and you already have that.
The risk of saying nothing is higher than the risk of getting the conversation slightly wrong.
Most people, when asked with genuine care whether they are okay, appreciate it, even if they are not ready to talk.
What you are actually looking for
The signs of stress are rarely dramatic. They tend to show up as gradual changes that individually seem unremarkable but together paint a clearer picture.
Changes in performance and output
This is often the first thing managers notice because it shows up in the work. Watch for:
- Increased errors or reduced attention to detail in someone who is normally reliable
- Missed deadlines or tasks falling through without a clear reason
- Slower output or visibly reduced productivity
- Difficulty making decisions or following tasks through
- Struggling to concentrate, appearing distracted in meetings
These changes are not necessarily signs of poor attitude or disengagement. Performance often drops before motivation does. When someone is under sustained stress, cognitive capacity is usually the first casualty.
Changes in behaviour and interaction
Beyond the work itself, stress tends to alter how people engage with others:
- Becoming quieter or more withdrawn, particularly if someone is usually sociable
- Increased irritability or short reactions that seem out of character
- Avoiding certain colleagues, meetings, or situations they previously engaged with
- Appearing tearful or emotionally volatile
- Overworking, arriving very early, staying late, or sending emails at unusual hours
It is worth noting that both extremes can indicate stress. Some people become visibly anxious or emotional; others go very quiet and appear detached. Neither pattern is more or less serious than the other.
Physical and attendance indicators
HSE guidance and statistics consistently show that sustained work-related stress is linked to increased sickness absence. The HSE's 2024/25 figures show 964,000 workers suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, with 22.1 million working days lost as a result.[1] Signs to note include:
- More frequent short-term absences, or a pattern worth noting rather than drawing conclusions from
- Complaints of headaches, fatigue, or digestive problems
- Visibly tired, rundown, or not eating regularly
- Increased reliance on caffeine, or comments about not sleeping
Having the conversation
Noticing is only useful if it leads to action. The good news is that the action does not need to be complicated.
If you have spotted a pattern of concern, the starting point is a private, low-pressure check-in. Not a formal meeting, not a performance review, just a genuine question in the right setting.
If someone does open up, your job is not to resolve whatever they are dealing with. It is to acknowledge it, take it seriously, and help them think about what support might be available.
What support actually looks like
Once a conversation has opened, there are several avenues worth knowing about before you need them.
Within your organisation
Depending on your workplace, this might include:
- HR or occupational health referral
- Employee Assistance Programme, if one is in place
- Flexible working or temporary changes to workload
- A return-to-work conversation following absence
It is also worth checking whether your organisation has a trained mental health first aider. Not all do, but if yours does, knowing who they are and what their role involves puts you in a much stronger position.
Mental health first aid at work
Mental health first aiders are trained to have early conversations about mental health and to help individuals access appropriate support. They are not therapists and they do not diagnose or treat. What they offer is a trained, confident first point of contact.
Nuco's First Aid for Mental Health qualifications are available at Levels 1, 2 and 3 and are designed to help staff recognise signs of mental health concerns, start supportive conversations, and signpost to appropriate help. The training is practical and grounded in workplace settings, which makes it particularly suited to the kind of early intervention this post is describing.
If your organisation does not currently have anyone trained to this standard, Stress Awareness Month is a natural point to raise the conversation with whoever leads on people or HR.
External support
For stress that is not primarily work-related, signposting to a GP is often the most appropriate step. For mental health concerns more broadly, resources such as Mind, the Samaritans (116 123), and the NHS Every Mind Matters site can provide useful starting points.
Where stress is linked to work, managers should also consider what changes are needed to reduce the source of pressure. HSE's Management Standards are designed to help employers address the causes of work-related stress, not just respond after the fact.
The legal context is worth knowing
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 place duties on employers to assess and manage risks to employees' health and safety, including risks arising from work-related stress.
The HSE's Management Standards framework provides a practical structure for this, covering six key areas of work that, when poorly managed, are associated with poor wellbeing: demands, control, support, relationships, role, and change.
As a manager, you are not personally liable for your organisation's compliance, but you are part of how that duty is fulfilled day to day. Noticing stress, acting on it appropriately, and escalating concerns through the right channels is part of the role, not an optional extra.
What good management looks like in practice
The research on workplace stress consistently points to the same management behaviours as protective factors. None of them are complicated, but all of them require consistency:
| What helps | What makes things worse |
|---|---|
| Regular one-to-ones that are genuinely private and two-way | Monitoring output without engaging with the person |
| Clarity about what is expected and when | Unclear or constantly shifting priorities |
| Acknowledging effort and not just outcomes | Feedback that focuses only on what went wrong |
| Being approachable when people are struggling | Signals, deliberate or not, that problems should stay hidden |
| Acting on what you hear | Listening but then doing nothing |
The manager relationship is one of the single strongest predictors of whether a struggling employee stays in their role, seeks support, or deteriorates to the point of absence. That is not pressure, it is context.
A note on your own stress
It would be a significant omission not to mention this. Managers are not immune to stress and are often subject to pressures from both directions, accountable upwards for results and downwards for team welfare simultaneously.
If you are struggling, the same principles apply. You are also entitled to a check-in, a conversation, and access to support.
Modelling that it is acceptable to acknowledge stress may be the most useful thing you do for your team this month.
That is what #BeTheChange looks like in practice: not a campaign, just a manager paying attention and doing something about it.
Need managers who feel more confident having difficult conversations?
Constellation Training offers accredited mental health first aid training for workplaces. Our courses help staff recognise signs of poor mental health, start supportive conversations, listen without panic, and signpost people towards appropriate help.
If you want to build confidence across your team, we can discuss the right level of training for your organisation.
References
1. Health and Safety Executive. Work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics in Great Britain, 2025. HSE, 2025.
2. Health and Safety Executive. Management Standards for Work-related Stress. HSE.
3. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
4. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
5. Nuco Training. First Aid for Mental Health (Levels 1, 2 and 3). Nuco Training.
6. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Health and Wellbeing at Work 2023. CIPD, 2023.
7. Mind. How to support staff who are stressed. Mind.org.uk.
