Rising Work Stress Surpasses Inflation and AI Anxiety as the Leading Threat to Employee Mental Wellness, Highlighting a Growing Crisis

• As work stress intensifies, 88% of employees say wellbeing support is as important to them as their salary, yet many feel employers are falling short.
• Gen Z is prioritizing therapy and mindfulness to manage their work stress, while baby boomers remain less engaged in these practices.

NEW YORK (October 16, 2024)—Wellhub, a corporate wellness platform that connects employees to the best partners for fitness, mindfulness, therapy, nutrition, and sleep, today released its 2025 State of Work-Life Wellness Report, revealing new data on employee wellbeing, including which benefits best support employees and how holistic wellness impacts the employee experience. Based on a global survey fielded between May and June 2024, the report compiles data from more than 5,000 global employees in nine countries.

Key Findings

Work stress is the most common cause of decreased mental wellness, surpassing inflation, anxiety due to AI and information overload.

• Nearly half (47%) identify work stress as the primary cause of their deteriorating mental health, beating out concerns like inflation (42%), information overload (14%), or anxiety due to AI (9%).
• Most employees across generations report work stress as the top cause of mental health decline. This is especially true for Gen Z (54%), Millennials (49%), and Gen X (48%). Inflation is the primary concern for Baby Boomers (42%).

The vast majority of employees say wellbeing is a top priority , but more than half believe their employers fall short in providing adequate support.

An alarming 83% of employees would consider leaving their current employer due to a lack of focus on wellbeing, signaling that wellbeing remains non-negotiable and may be an employment dealbreaker. This is consistent with 2023’s result of 87% and up from 68% in 2022.

• Wellbeing is equally important to salary for 88% of global employees, slightly down from 93% in 2023 and up from 83% in 2022.
• While 88% of employees believe their employer has a responsibility to help them tend to their wellbeing, only slightly more than half (59%) say their benefits program is excellent or good.
• 89% of employees say they will only consider companies that prioritize employee wellbeing when seeking new employment. 

Therapy and mindfulness are critical to Gen Z employees, not so much for Baby Boomers.

• Gen Z — the largest generation in the world — is most actively engaged in caring for their mental wellness. They are most likely to meditate with apps (26%), in classes (20%) or through self-guided sessions (20%).
• In addition, 50% of Gen Z respondents report they are in therapy, compared to 45% of millenials, 27% percent of Gen X and 24% of Baby Boomers.
• Three out of four workers not seeing a therapist would like to do so. Cost is the top barrier to therapy for Gen Z, Millenials and Gen X. This is in contrast to Baby Boomers, who cite lack of interest as the primary obstacle (39%) and who are seven times more likely than Gen Z to find therapy unimportant to their wellbeing. (23% vs. 3%)

Wellness benefits drive engagement and improve wellbeing, but access remains limited.

• Paid Time Off and Health Insurance top the charts in terms of benefits employees use the most, while Stock Options and Wellbeing Programs surpass traditional benefits like Retirement Plans and Life Insurance.
• 79% of employees with access to wellness programs – such as therapy/counseling, flexible work arrangements, fitness programs, financial wellness tools/education, women’s health/reproductive support, childcare support – actively utilise them, demonstrating a strong demand for wellbeing benefits.
• Despite this demand, only 14% of employees have access to fitness support and a mere 11% have access to mindfulness and meditation resources.

Companies that offer wellness programs see significant improvements in employee wellbeing and engagement.

• 69% of employees with a wellbeing program say their overall wellbeing is good or thriving, compared to 53% of employees who do not have a wellbeing program.
• 59% of employees with a wellness program said their wellness improved in the last year, compared to 38% of employees who do not have a wellbeing program.
• 84% of employees with a wellness program said they are adequately compensated, compared to 61% of employees who do not have a wellbeing program.
• 79% of employees with a wellness program said their HR departments genuinely care about them, compared to 45% of employees who do not have a wellbeing program.

"Our research underscores an unavoidable truth for HR and business leaders: work-related stress is the leading cause of declining mental health for employees across generations," said Cesar Carvalho, CEO of Wellhub. "Ignoring this not only impacts individual wellbeing but also carries significant costs for businesses in lost productivity and turnover. Wellbeing is no longer a perk; it's a core business strategy. Leaders must prioritize holistic wellness support to build resilient, productive and engaged workforces."

This year’s State of Work-Life Wellness Report cites burnout-driven productivity losses and voluntary turnover cost companies an estimated $322 billion yearly, upwards of 20% of their total payroll. When all of the impacts of anxiety and depression are considered, they cost the global economy $1 trillion a year—a figure that’s anticipated to grow to $6 trillion by 20301.

Download the full 2025 State of Work-Life Wellness Report here.

Methodology

Wellhub conducted its State of Work-Life Wellness 2025 survey to assess the current status of worker wellness and examine how well employee benefits packages are meeting workers’ needs. More than 5,000 full-time employees were surveyed between May 21, 2024 and June 3, 2024 in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Mexico.