- New research from Allianz Australia reveals almost six in ten Australian employees surveyed have suffered mental distress due to factors such as workload pressure, meeting overload and unrealistic deadlines.
- Allianz’s primary psychological workers’ compensation claims increased by 28.4 per cent between FY21 and FY25, with 2.73 million Australians likely to consider leaving their jobs in the next year.
- Australian employees surveyed are calling for better manager training to support their well-being, fewer unnecessary tasks and recurring mental health days.
- In response, Australian organizations are expected to invest $33.83 billion in mental health support services this year.
- Allianz launches "Deprogram burn-out" hub, a suite of resources to help Australian workplaces and their employees prevent burnout.
SYDNEY, October 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — New research from Allianz Australia reveals that supporting mental health in the workplace continues to be a challenge, as managers and employees experience mental distress due to workload.
Nearly 80 percent of employees surveyed and nearly two-thirds of managers surveyed do not believe their organization enforces good work habits and boundaries to reduce burnout. The majority of managers surveyed (78 percent) cite systemic barriers to reducing burnout, ranging from lack of time and resources (26 percent) to availability of appropriate technology (26 percent) and conflicts with other workplace priorities (23 percent).
Nearly six in ten employees surveyed (59 percent) said they had suffered work-related mental distress, with workload pressure, meeting overload and unrealistic deadlines being the main causes. The average Australian employee reports spending 3.31 hours per week on tasks or meetings deemed unnecessary and almost a third (32%) feel unable to take adequate breaks due to their back-to-back schedules.
Beyond the workplace, 19 percent of employees surveyed said technology made it difficult to disconnect from work. One in four employees also say cost-of-living concerns and financial pressures affect their ability to concentrate at work.
The study also reveals 2.73 million Australians are considering leaving their jobs in the next year.
Concerns about work-related mental distress are reflected in a 28.4 percent relative increase in Allianz primary psychological workers’ compensation claims between FY21 and FY25, as well as a 10 percent increase in average downtime per claim; increase to 81 days.
Mark Pittman, Executive General Manager – Personal Injury, Allianz Australia said: "Our claims data tells us that mental stress and work pressure is the second largest contributor to primary active psychological claims (34%). We’re all on a journey and we’re learning more every day about how to support mental health at work. While Allianz strives to support workers injured by workplace stress, we recognize that the best outcomes are achieved through prevention. Through our ideas, guides and other resources, we hope to make a positive contribution to creating more mentally healthy workplaces."
Deprogram burn-out
Allianz’s research, now in its seventh year, identifies opportunities for workplaces "Deprogram burn-out" to support the mental health of their staff.
To support organisations, Allianz has released a series of tailored resources, including video tutorials and comprehensive guidance aimed at the construction, education, healthcare and professional services sectors, to help them prevent burnout among their workforce. Given comments from interviewed employees that external pressures affect their ability to concentrate at work, this approach goes beyond the purely work perspective, reconsidering the established notion that burnout is caused solely by workplace demands.
Although active recovery is essential for reducing stress, 73 percent of employees report being unable to schedule regular personal time for themselves. When it comes to household chores, 78 percent don’t divide responsibilities equally and 81 percent don’t have a reliable network to help them with routine tasks like going to school or providing care.
Additionally, only one in three managers (35%) believe their organization recognizes and addresses the needs of working parents and caregivers, and only 29% believe employees feel comfortable raising concerns about bias or discrimination related to family or caregiving responsibilities.
Brianna Cattanach, National Mental Health Strategy Manager – Personal Injury, Allianz Australia, says: "Allianz is calling on Australian workplaces to take a holistic view of employee wellbeing. Business leaders can support this through job design that ensures: manageable workloads, a natural ebb and flow of work demands, adequate “recovery” time during work hours, and ground rules for disconnecting after hours. "
"This should be accompanied by training managers on how to adopt these healthy workforce habits and respond empathetically to work-related burnout and mental distress. This is the most sought-after metric that surveyed employees want their organization to commit to."
Helen Lawson Williams, co-founder of the anti-burnout program RESERVOIR says: "Burnout presents itself differently depending on the person, role or industry. But burnout certainly doesn’t have to be a part of the job. This can be avoided when teams check the right things and act quickly. Employees can start by recognizing when their stress/recovery balance is disrupted, which may result in fatigue, feeling overwhelmed, irritable, or less concern for their work than usual. "
"Speak up before things escalate and be specific about what makes it more difficult to limit stress or recover successfully – whether it’s an overload of meetings, lack of breaks, unrealistic deadlines or the inability to concentrate due to pressures from outside the workplace. Ask for what you need and use the support your workplace offers, such as employee assistance program services. Don’t underestimate the power of small changes: Taking appropriate breaks, setting boundaries, and prioritizing recovery activities like sleep and exercise can be enough to restore your stress/recovery balance, preventing burnout for good."
Visit Allianz’s Unschedule the Burnout Hub at Allianz.com.au/UnscheduleTheBurnout to access the suite of resources.
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SOURCE Allianz Australia
