How communication skills transform workplace stress

Workplace stress is something almost all of us feel. While awareness of mental health issues has grown in recent years, the impact of stress at work remains a major problem.

A staggering 80% of employees now report feeling stressed at work, up from 76% in 2023, with 74% saying they’re so overwhelmed they struggle to cope with their daily tasks. The costs of this stress are astounding; 17 million working days are lost every year due to stress, along with stress-induced anxiety and depression. The NHS spends more than £11 billion on related health issues annually.

Evidently, something needs to change. The answer is simple: improved communication.

One of the quickest, most beneficial, and most cost-effective ways to tackle the issue of workplace-induced stress is to invest in employees’ language and communication skills. Providing the workforce with the right tools for effective communication can reduce misunderstandings while enhancing collaboration and productivity, ultimately decreasing stress and creating a more positive work environment.

Communication is at the heart of every workplace. Poor communication creates confusion, misunderstandings and isolation, while effective communication builds trust, clarity and a supportive atmosphere that helps ease stress.

However, there’s a fine balance to be struck between too much and too little communication. In the modern workplace, organisations often adopt numerous digital communication tools, such as Slack, Teams and email, with the intention of making communication more effective. However, this increases the sheer volume of communication that employees are expected to manage, which can become overwhelming. In addition, 35% of employees say that their companies fail to give clear guidance on how to use these tools effectively, and don’t provide advice on what is the most appropriate language to use in each context.

This lack of structure and support inevitably leads to inefficiency, frustration and stress. Companies can turn this around by streamlining platforms and offering training on tone, language, and how to communicate appropriately for different contexts.

Conversely, insufficient communication can leave employees feeling invisible and unsupported. When people feel that there isn’t an open dialogue where they can raise concerns or ask for help in the workplace, stress and insecurity pile up. This communication gap can fuel negative assumptions and questions like: ‘Will I look incapable if I raise this concern?’ or ‘Could this hurt my job security?’ Such questions can create a culture of fear, rather than collaboration.

To address this, organisations should prioritise open, empathetic communication, equipping managers with the skills to listen actively and the language skills needed to create an environment where employees feel valued and supported.

The power of inclusive language

Effective communication has the power to build connections or, if done badly, create barriers.

Employers need to work at utilising inclusive language that avoids bias or assumptions, in order for employees to feel respected and valued, with a sense of belonging. Simple changes, like using ‘partner’ instead of gendered terms like ‘husband’ or ‘wife’, or addressing a group as ‘everyone’ instead of ‘guys’, signal respect for diverse identities. Avoiding casual phrases that trivialise mental health, such as “I feel so depressed today,” helps reduce stigma and promotes understanding. This intentional approach to communication not only strengthens workplace relationships but also encourages employees to share ideas and concerns openly, reducing stress and enhancing collaboration across teams.

Challenges in remote work

While remote and hybrid work has its benefits, it also introduces further challenges for internal and external communication. Without the regular informal conversations common in office settings, it’s easy for conversation to become siloed and for employees to feel disconnected.

Asynchronous communication tools like email or Slack are convenient, but lack the depth and ease of face-to-face chats, making it harder to transfer complex ideas, and making misunderstandings more common.

Another issue prominent in many workplaces is language barriers, which can be a significant challenge for people in today’s globalised workforce, where employees come from diverse backgrounds and may be based in various countries. Team members often have differing levels of proficiency in the working language of their workplace.

To address these challenges, companies should provide training and resources to support employees in several key areas: understanding industry-specific jargon, improving proficiency in the team’s working language when necessary, and leveraging video conferencing to capture essential nonverbal cues.

Changing the conversation

Good, effective and inclusive communication is essential for reducing workplace stress and building a healthy, productive environment. By investing in communication training, effective language skills, and fostering a culture of openness and empathy, organisations can create workplaces where employees feel supported, and equipped to manage their workloads. This investment will not only reduce stress but also build a resilient and productive workforce.

By Maria Rechkemmer, expert in business didactics at Babbel for Business