For many adults, the workplace has become one of the most significant sources of daily stress, with mounting professional pressures taking a growing toll on employees’ mental health and overall well-being.

Long hours, high performance expectations, and ever-expanding workloads are pushing workers to reassess what they truly want from their careers and what they are no longer willing to endure.

A recent survey by Michael Page found that 36% of workers across the Middle East describe their jobs as stressful. The findings also revealed that 32% have considered quitting due to the demands of their role. In comparison, 16% said they would accept a lower salary in exchange for a less stressful position, reflecting a broader and deepening shift in attitudes towards work-life balance and mental wellbeing.

THE TELLING SIGNS 

Maha Botros, Workplace Wellbeing Advisor, believes that stress is inevitable and even functional in measured doses. 

“The kind worth paying attention to is the kind that quietly erodes a person’s connection to their work over time.”

Botros explains that this erosion begins with disconnection rather than pressure. “An employee who can no longer clearly answer why their work matters, who doesn’t see a link between what they do daily and where the organization is heading.”

The signals, she notes, tend to be behavioral first. “Missed deadlines, withdrawal from team conversations, showing up but mentally checking out. The quality of work drifts not because someone became less capable, but because they became less invested.”

She also notes that cynicism is usually the late-stage signal, when genuine enthusiasm quietly gives way to going through the motions.

ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS

Because the workplace makes up a significant portion of people’s daily lives, Botros says it inevitably shapes how people perform and show up.

She identifies several organizational conditions that consistently make it harder for people to thrive. Unclear or shifting expectations are among the most corrosive, leaving employees either overextending themselves or quietly disengaging. Closely linked is the absence of acknowledgment, not formal recognition programs, but the simple habit of noting when something was done well. People calibrate their effort based on whether their contribution registers.

“Other draining factors include poor communication around decisions, limited visibility into the organization’s direction, few opportunities to grow, and an environment where raising a concern feels riskier than staying quiet.”

That said, Botros is careful to note that employees also carry responsibility. “Waiting passively for conditions to improve rarely produces them. The organizations where people flourish tend to be ones where both sides take that seriously.”

EMPLOYEE HABITS

There is a clear difference between being productively challenged and pushing oneself to the point of exhaustion, Botros says. However, many employees realize they have crossed that line only after burnout has already set in. She argues that one of the most overlooked habits in managing stress is honestly assessing where time and energy are actually being spent.

“Most people find a real gap between what they think they’re spending time on and what’s actually consuming their day,” she says, explaining that this reflection creates the self-awareness needed to make intentional decisions rather than constantly reacting to demands.

She also stresses the importance of being selective about additional responsibilities, noting that protecting personal capacity is often misunderstood. “Choosing not to absorb something new when your capacity is already stretched is professionalism, not avoidance.”

While different jobs operate on different rhythms, she believes recovery must be intentional across all roles. Whether it is protecting focused work time, limiting unnecessary meetings, or taking short breaks to disconnect, employees cannot rely on waiting for a naturally quiet moment, because “that moment rarely comes.”

She adds that the way workplace concerns are communicated often determines whether they are addressed. Rather than focusing purely on emotion, discussions are more effective when framed around priorities and outcomes. “The most practical shift is moving away from personal language toward impact and outcomes,” she says, suggesting employees frame conversations around workload alignment and planning.

Coming prepared with possible solutions can also improve how concerns are received. “I’ve thought through a few ways we could approach this,” she explains, signaling collaboration and problem-solving rather than simply offloading a burden.

THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP

The responsibility employers carry for employee well-being extends well beyond policies and wellness initiatives, Botros says. Workplace culture has a direct bearing on whether employees thrive or simply endure, and that is often reflected in retention, productivity, and the overall quality of work being produced.

“The environment an organization creates has a real effect on whether people flourish or simply endure,” she says, adding that companies which treat wellbeing as “an operational priority rather than a peripheral one” are more likely to see stronger long-term results.

The most effective organizations, she notes, avoid imposing wellbeing from the top down. While policies such as clear communication, manageable workloads, and manager training are important, their success depends on whether they are genuinely reflected in day-to-day workplace practices.

“The gap between what an organization says it values and what it tolerates day-to-day is something people notice immediately,” she says.

Leadership behavior, Botros adds, often carries more weight than formal policy. The way managers communicate under pressure, respond to concerns, and model workplace boundaries helps shape what employees come to see as normal within an organization.

At the same time, she is clear that responsibility cannot rest solely with employers. “Organizations can create conditions for people to thrive but cannot do it for them,” she says, adding that the healthiest workplace environments are those where accountability exists on both sides.