Workplace Stress, Conflict and Performance Pressure Are Rising in 2025

Workplaces across the U.S. are under increasing strain. New research highlights a concerning increase in employee stress, conflict and performance pressure—issues that are hitting healthcare workers especially hard and threatening both employee well-being and organizational outcomes.

The latest Psychological Safety Study from the Workplace Options (WPO) Center for Organizational Effectiveness shared a look at what employees across a wide range of industries and roles are experiencing in 2025.

Drawing from real, anonymized clinical conversations with workplace well-being professionals in 18 countries, the study painted a picture of the challenges workers face and outlines what organizations must do to create safer, healthier environments moving forward.

Employee in the healthcare field feeling stressed or burned out.

In the U.S., employee concerns have shifted significantly from just one year ago.

In 2024, top issues included daily work activities, work-life balance and conflict with managers. Now in 2025, those concerns have evolved into broader, more alarming themes: workplace stress, interpersonal conflict and performance issues.

According to the study, these problems aren’t happening on their own—they’re signs that workplace culture is having a hard time keeping up with all the changes happening right now.

The WPO study shared these findings are not unique to the U.S. From Australia and France to China, workers globally are reporting similar struggles.

However, authors of the study said the solution starts at home, with how organizations in the U.S. treat psychological safety.

“True psychological safety at work doesn’t begin and end with culture—it begins with inclusive leadership and shows up in every aspect of employee engagement strategy. Especially in healthcare,” Oliver Brecht, vice president and general manager of the WPO Center for Organizational Effectiveness, told MHE.

Brecht explained that stress and pressure in healthcare settings are no longer just personal or individual problems. They’re systemic issues with ripple effects that impact everything from patient outcomes to employee retention.

“WPO Center for Organizational Effectiveness’ latest study confirmed what many clinicians and healthcare professionals already feel daily: stress, interpersonal conflict, and performance pressure are rising—and they’re compromising not just mental health and wellbeing, but also patient outcomes, workforce stability, and the long-term health of healthcare systems.”

He added that psychological safety is foundational to trust, and “that trust is the currency of any high-functioning healthcare environment.”

Based on the conversations where data was collected, they revealed that burnout is rising, especially among younger workers, and employees are feeling unheard, unsupported and overwhelmed.

Kennette Thigpen Harris, M.D., a licensed clinical social worker and CEO of Welltrust Partners, contributed to the study and warned of the long-term impact if companies don’t act now.

“Our study is a wake-up call. If organizations do not prioritize psychological safety now, the next generation will enter a workforce defined by stress, conflict, and disengagement,” she said. “Millennials have entered decision-making roles, the opportunity to build a workplace culture defined by trust, respect, collaboration, and wellbeing has never been more urgent.”

According to Brecht, employers—especially in healthcare—must shift their perspective.

“For healthcare leaders, the opportunity is this: shift from viewing psychological safety as a ‘soft skill’ to treating it as operational infrastructure,” Brecht said.

He outlined four key steps:

• Provide meaningful flexibility, especially for frontline workers.
• Create spaces for open dialogue and reflection.
• Promote a results-driven, not rigidity-driven, culture.
• Invest in whole-person well-being.

“Psychological safety isn’t a perk—it’s a prerequisite,” Brecht added. “For better outcomes, for better retention, and for a healthcare system that’s not just clinically excellent, but also deeply human.”