Stressed staff cost UK professional services firms more than £4m a year
Nearly half of the professional services workforce is stressed, causing significant financial impacts on businesses.
New research today by Walking on Earth (WONE), focused on 1,000 full-time employees in the UK and the US, revealed that 45 per cent are either highly stressed or feeling stressed frequently.
The report looked at typically high-paying, high-intensity environments across the finance, legal, and technology sectors.
The findings made it clear that stress is not just a concern for wellbeing but a business risk due to lost working days, rising costs, and compliance failures.
Employee stress is costing British businesses more than £4m a year.
People not showing up to work cost UK businesses nearly £1,400 per person yearly, while presenteeism is an even higher cost at over £1,900 per employee.
WONE’s data revealed that employees who are highly stressed are eight times more likely to take sick days than employees who reported low stress.
While highly stressed staff are nearly four times more likely to resign.
The report noted that 12 per cent of the entire professional services workforce is at risk of compliance violations and operational failures due to high stress.
Within professional services, the legal sector had the highest stress levels, with 52 per cent of those surveyed affected.
This comes after a report by Bright Horizons Family Solutions today revealed that over a third of parents in the legal sector report the highest stress levels compared to other professional services.
Reeva Misra, founder and CEO of WONE, said: “For too long, employee stress has been seen as an HR issue rather than a financial and operational risk.”
“The data is clear: stress is actively undermining workforce stability, driving up costs, and impacting business resilience.”
She warned that “we’ve reached a tipping point, and inaction is no longer an option.”
“The smartest strategy is prevention—embedding stress management into the core of business risk planning, using science-driven solutions that protect both employees and the bottom line,” Misra added.