Why support at work matters

If you have ever finished a shift and felt like your brain was buzzing, your chest was tight, and your patience for the rest of the world had completely disappeared, you are not imagining it. High stress jobs, whether in content moderation, customer service, leadership, or other roles like healthcare or emergency response, have a way of crawling under your skin and staying there. You log off but the images, the complaints, the endless pressure to be calm and polite do not log off with you. You might ask yourself why you feel so exhausted when you were just sitting at a desk all day. You might wonder why you snap at people you love or feel numb when you finally have time to relax. This is the part nobody really prepares you for, and it is the part people rarely talk about out loud.

What constitutes a wellness programme?

A wellness programme is a structured set of supports and practices designed to protect and improve mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing at work. In high stress roles, this is not about free fruit, a gym discount, or a meditation app link no one has time to open. It is about recognising that the work itself can be psychologically demanding and sometimes even traumatic. Research consistently shows that roles involving constant emotional labour, exposure to distressing material, or repeated conflict significantly increase the risk of burnout, anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion.

A strong wellness programme often includes:

• Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP): confidential counselling and advice to help employees manage stress, personal challenges, or mental health concerns

• leadership training: equipping managers to recognise stress, respond empathetically, and model healthy behaviours

• psychological education: helping employees understand emotional load, burnout, and resilience strategies

• structured support systems: regular check-ins, workload management, and clear access to resources

These programmes and the EAP can be accessed in multiple ways, including video calls, telephone counselling, online resources, or in-person sessions, depending on what is most convenient and accessible for employees.

The EAP is a cornerstone of these programmes. It is a safety net for employees who may be struggling but are unsure where to turn. Leaders play a critical role because no programme works if managers dismiss stress, model unhealthy behaviours, or fail to actively encourage use of support services.

A common misconception is that wellness programmes are a nice extra or a perk. In high stress jobs, they are closer to protective equipment. Just like you would not expect someone to work with hazardous materials without safety gear, it is unrealistic to expect people to manage intense emotional load without structured support.

Understanding stress and its impact at work

Content moderators, customer service workers, and leaders constantly regulate emotions. You might deal with distressing content, angry customers, or high stakes decisions, all while staying composed. Emotional labour research shows that this constant self control drains cognitive resources and increases fatigue. In fact, employees in high stress roles are 2.6 times more likely to experience burnout than those in less demanding jobs (Maslach & Leiter, 2016).

For content moderators specifically, studies suggest that over 80% experience secondary traumatic stress or emotional exhaustion after prolonged exposure to distressing material (Roberts et al., 2019). Wellness programmes, including EAP access, scheduled check-ins, and grounding exercises, reduce this load. Leaders who openly encourage employees to use the EAP make a huge difference in normalising support and providing psychological safety.

• Burnout and moral injury

  Burnout is not just feeling tired. It includes emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness. Roles like content moderation may also trigger moral injury, which occurs when your work requires witnessing or participating in situations that conflict with your values. Wellness programmes and EAPs help employees process these experiences safely. Leadership support through reflective supervision, recognition of stress, and promotion of EAP services is critical in mitigating burnout.

  Without structured support, burnout contributes not only to emotional strain but also to reduced productivity and higher turnover, costing organisations both performance and talent. Research shows that workplace stress and mental health challenges cost the global economy $1 trillion annually in lost productivity (WHO, 2020).

• Retention, performance, and leadership impact
  

  When employees are overwhelmed and unsupported, performance drops and turnover rises. Organisations with structured wellness programmes report 25-30% lower turnover and up to 20% higher productivity among employees who engage with supports like EAP (Attridge, 2019). Employees who feel psychologically supported are more engaged, make fewer errors, and are more likely to recommend their workplace to others.

  Leaders set the tone: when managers actively encourage EAP use, normalise stress check-ins, and manage workloads, wellness programmes become embedded in the workplace culture rather than being a token gesture. Supportive leadership transforms wellness programmes from optional extras into essential tools for sustaining performance and protecting mental health.

Addressing common issues and beliefs

Personal and Organizational Strategies

High stress roles require support at both the individual and organisational level. Personal strategies help employees manage their own wellbeing, while organisational strategies create an environment that prevents burnout and supports mental health. Both are essential, and they work best together.

Key takeaway:Employees can take daily steps to protect their wellbeing, but without supportive leadership and organisational policies, these strategies are limited in impact. Organisations that actively implement these measures see lower turnover, better engagement, and improved mental health outcomes across teams.

Conclusion

High stress roles take a real toll on employees’ mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. The evidence is clear: without structured support, burnout, moral injury, and cognitive fatigue become almost inevitable. Wellness programmes, particularly those including EAP access, leadership training, and structured support systems, are essential. They are not a luxury, but a critical investment in both employee wellbeing and organisational success. When leaders actively encourage use of these supports and normalise conversations about stress, the impact ripples across the team, improving engagement, retention, and overall workplace culture.

Call to Action

If you are an employee in a high stress role, take steps to protect your wellbeing: explore your EAP, try grounding exercises, and speak up when workload or emotional load feels overwhelming. If you are a leader, model healthy behaviours, prioritise psychological safety, and actively promote your wellness programme. At Rebuilding Thoughts, we help organisations create comprehensive wellness programmes that support both individuals and teams. Start the conversation today—your wellbeing and your team’s success depend on it.

References

• Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111.

• Attridge, M. (2019). Employee assistance programs: Evidence and current trends. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 34(2), 95–113.

• Roberts, S. T., et al. (2019). Behind the screen: Content moderation in the shadows of social media. New Media & Society, 21(1), 1–18.

• World Health Organization. (2020). Mental health in the workplace. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-in-the-workplace