Take time to consider mental health at work

This week is a good opportunity for business leaders across the Netherlands to consider the mental wellbeing of their organisation. It's Work Stress Week, and one in six employees experiences excessive levels of stress. Once that happens, sickness absence can quickly become a matter of time.

Work-related stress looks very different in 2025 than it did ten years ago. In the past, excessive workloads and long working days were often the main causes. Today, stress is more likely to stem from unclear priorities, a lack of direction and the feeling that we always need to be ‘on’. The flexibility of hybrid working and the pace of digital communication bring new challenges. Employees and managers alike can find it difficult to maintain a healthy balance – and to speak up in time when that balance starts to slip. All too often, stress only becomes visible once the problem has already escalated.

That's why recognising the early signs is so important. Look out for one another. Have you noticed that a colleague is more irritable than usual, becoming withdrawn or making more mistakes? Start a conversation. Simply letting someone know you've noticed a change can make a real difference. Open conversations about mental strain are part of a healthy workplace. Preventive measures can support this too, such as workload assessments, wellbeing programmes and guidance from an occupational health physician.

But reducing workload is only part of the answer. Building resilience matters too. Giving people enough time to recover, setting clear expectations and giving employees greater control over their work can help them cope better with pressure. Organisations that get this right tend to see greater engagement and lower sickness absence.

In the day-to-day demands of running a business, it isn't always easy to give this the attention it deserves. That's where TrueTribe can help. Using data to provide insight into employee wellbeing, it enables organisations to take focused, effective action and build a more resilient workforce.

Work Stress Week is a timely reminder to invest in reducing stress and creating more energy and wellbeing at work.