Employee survey provider Stribe is calling for UK employers to prioritise staff wellbeing as the pre-Christmas rush hits its peak. New data confirms that a combination of seasonal workload increases and mounting financial pressures is pushing the UK workforce to a breaking point, significantly affecting Gen Z in particular.
Stribe has collected data, from past published employee surveys and research, to share the scale of the problem ahead of Christmas 2025. Driven by seasonal workload increases and mounting financial pressures, this research indicates the UK workforce is facing a wellbeing crisis this festive season.
The pre-Christmas pressure has been worsened in recent years by an inability to switch off, leading to many workers not taking full advantage of their available annual leave by the end of the year. A 2024 survey revealed that only 35 per cent of UK workers use all of their annual leave days, proving the majority are missing out on much-needed time off to recharge. The same study revealed that the biggest factor in staff not taking time off was due to staff shortages, overwhelmingly cited as the biggest reason for unclaimed holiday by 42 per cent of individuals.
Diving further into why employees are losing annual leave, the research showed that the most affected group appears to be Gen Z workers, who are the least likely to take their full holiday entitlement (only 22 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds do so typically). Gen Z are also the most likely to work when they are meant to be off (74 per cent admitted to working while on holiday). This contributes to the finding that 14 per cent reported a worsening of their mental health during key periods like Christmas. This failure to disconnect is influenced by underlying issues that make them uniquely vulnerable as a generation due to heightened job market anxiety, greater pressure to work unpaid overtime and intense financial stress driven by the cost of living crisis.
This behaviour stands in stark contrast to older generations. The rate of annual leave usage by 18 to 24 year olds is 25 percentage points lower than the over 54s (at 47 per cent), highlighting a significant generational gap in work-life balance. Additionally, older workers are significantly less likely to experience work-related poor mental health and stress, correlating with the increase in annual leave uptake.
Mental health and burnout is contributing to mass employee absence, as statistics from HSE reveal that stress, depression and anxiety accounted for the majority of work-related ill health cases in the UK in 2024/25, resulting in a staggering 22.1 million lost working days. On average, each person suffering from these mental health conditions took around 22.9 days off work, significantly higher than the 6.5 days for general injuries.
The research points to mental health related absences getting worse in the run up to Christmas, as nearly half (49 per cent) of workers reported an increased workload to complete before Christmas Day, citing it as the main cause of their festive anxiety. This pressure is most apparent in consumer facing roles, where nearly half (46 per cent) of retail employees revealed they had worked whilst being ill at the end of 2024.
“The pre-Christmas sprint may be considered a business necessity by some but it comes at the cost of employee wellbeing,” says Lucy Harvey, COO of Stribe. “The data clearly shows that employees are pushing through exhaustion, leading to rising levels of presenteeism and rising mental health absences in the new year. Younger workers are being disproportionately affected by these pressures and more should be done to look after staff at a busy time of year. For organisations performance mustn’t come at the cost of your people. Employers must move beyond generic benefits and identify which teams are struggling, why they are struggling and what specific action is needed right now to redistribute workloads and protect staff. Proper resource management, reasonable adjustments and applying a fair and balanced approach can ensure your employees switch off and enjoy their time at Christmas.”
