Workplace Stress
Overview
Statistics
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Nearly one in five US adults live with a mental illness2.
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Workplace stress has been reported to cause 120,000 deaths in the US each year3.
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75% of adults have reported work as being a significant source of stress4.
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76% of workers reported experiencing at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year and 84% of employees say workplace conditions adversely impacted their mental wellbeing5.
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For every $1 spent on ordinary mental health concerns, employers see a $4 return in productivity gains6.
Stress can be harmful to our health and increase mental health challenges. Mental health challenges can include clinical mental illness and substance use disorders as well as other emotions like stress, grief, feeling sad and anxious, where these feelings are temporary and not part of a diagnosable condition. While there are many things in life that induce stress, work can be one of those factors. However, workplaces can also be a key place for resources, solutions, and activities designed to improve our mental health and well-being.
Workplace stress and poor mental health can negatively affect workers through1:
- Job performance
- Productivity
- Work engagement and communication
- Physical capability and daily functioning
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (July 2018). Mental Health in the Workplace.
2 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (July 2025). National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
3 Goh, J., Pfeffer, J., & Zenios, S. A. (2015). The relationship between workplace stressors and mortality and health costs in the United States. Management Science, 62(2), 608-628.
4 American Institute of Stress (2025). What the Latest Reports Say About Stress in America.
5 NSC. Mental Health: The Hidden Risk in the Workplace.
6 The World Health Organization. Mental health in the workplace.