Workplace stress risk assessment: are you actually okay going into the new year?

Most workplace stress risk assessments are written for employers. Understandable. They have a duty of care to identify hazards, put controls in place and make sure they’re compliant. 

But there often is no equivalent written for you; the person experiencing the stress who arguably holds the strongest keys to identifying the stress, the causes and boundary setting for change. We’ve put together a tool to help you take stock before the new year arrives and the pace picks back up.

It’s not a clinical instrument, you don’t need to fill in a form or sign your life away. Just a set of questions worth reflecting on before January, while you still have the mental space to think clearly about them.

Part 1: Your workload

Is your workload consistently manageable within your contracted hours? 

Not occasionally, you want to see consistency here. If you’re regularly working significantly beyond your contracted hours to keep up, this could be pointing to a structural problem, not a personal efficiency issue. Yes, there are absolutely times where there’s a short-term crunch and it’s all hands on deck but that shouldn’t become your day-to-day. 

Do you have enough resources, support and clarity to do your job well? Workload isn’t just volume. It’s volume relative to the tools, people and information available to you. If you’re regularly blocked, under-resourced or unclear on what success looks like, the stress you’re experiencing may be systemic rather than situational.

Have you taken all of your vacation entitlement this year? Employment standards vary by province, but most Canadian workers are entitled to at least two weeks of paid vacation per year; and in several provinces that increases with years of service. If you haven’t taken it, or the idea of taking leave feels impossible and fills you with dread, then that’s a sign that you should take notice of. Vacation time exists precisely because recovery from work stress requires sustained time away from work, not just weekends. If you’re not sure what you’re entitled to, your provincial employment standards office can tell you.

Part 2: Your working relationships

Do you feel respected by the people you work with and for? Not everyone’s best friend, do you have genuine respect for your colleagues and respect from them?  Workplaces where people feel chronically disrespected, dismissed or talked over can be associated with significantly higher rates of stress-related illness. If you notice yourself regularly feeling undervalued, it might be time to raise what respect and appreciation looks like for you. 

Is there someone at work you could go to if you were genuinely struggling? A manager, a colleague, an HR contact. You don’t need to have needed them yet, but knowing the answer to this question matters. Isolation is one of the strongest amplifiers of workplace stress, and one of the most common features of work environments that have become genuinely harmful.

Have any working relationships become a significant source of stress? A difficult dynamic with a manager or colleague that you’ve been managing around rather than addressing directly has a compounding cost over time. It takes energy. It shapes how you show up in other parts of your work. If the answer is yes, it’s time to think about whether you can address it and what that looks like.

Part 3: Your wellbeing

Are you sleeping reasonably well? Chronic work stress is one of the most common drivers of sleep disruption and poor sleep significantly worsens the experience of stress, creating a cycle that’s hard to break from the inside. If you haven’t slept well in weeks or months, and you can trace it to work anxiety, that’s the signal to look closer.

Are you able to genuinely switch off outside of working hours? This isn’t about being productive every evening. It’s about whether work follows you home. Are you finding yourself thinking about work once you get home, or checking emails out of habit? If you can’t remember the last time you were genuinely off, then keep reading. .

Has anything about your work changed your sense of yourself? Your confidence, your sense of purpose, your feeling of competence? This is the subtler one. Chronic workplace stress doesn’t just cause tiredness and irritability. Over time, it can erode the things that make work feel worthwhile — your belief in your own ability, your sense that what you’re doing matters, your capacity to take satisfaction in things done well. It’s not a personal failing, it’s what sustained stress does.

What to do with your answers

If most of your answers were broadly okay, then the new year is a reasonable time to set some intentions about what you want to be different, and to have that conversation with your manager.

If several of your answers were not okay and you recognised something that’s been true for longer than just a difficult period, then the new year conversation is more urgent. Not a resolution. A genuine opportunity to build change.

What to raise with your manager

The most effective version of this conversation is specific rather than general. Flagging that you’re stressed is hard for a manager to act on. Statements like “my workload has been consistently above what I can manage sustainably, and I need us to talk about prioritization” or “I haven’t been able to take vacation this year and I need to fix that in Q1”; those are actionable. 

If your workplace uses Employment Hero, use the 1:1 feature to open this conversation and create a record of what you’ve raised and what’s been agreed.

What to ask for in a new year conversation

Be clear around what you need: clearer priorities, realistic deadlines, resources or support you’ve been missing. You don’t need to have all the answers; but coming in with a specific ask is more likely to produce a specific outcome.

What CCOHS says your employer should be doing

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety recognizes psychosocial hazards — including excessive job demands, low control, poor support and workplace conflict — as legitimate occupational health risks. The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (CSA Z1003) provides a framework that hundreds of Canadian organizations across various sectors have formally adopted. Occupational health and safety legislation is provincially administered, but psychological harm is increasingly recognized as a workplace health matter across all jurisdictions. 

If your answers to the self-assessment above flagged problems in any of these areas, you’re raising something your employer has a legal and ethical obligation to take seriously.

New year, new you (a happier one)

The new year is a reasonable time to want things to be different, and you absolutely still have control and a say in the levels of stress you’re experiencing and how to make it better. This assessment is a starting point, not a finish line. It won’t be fixed overnight, but with the support of your employer and your determination to reset, the new year is looking bright. 

The information in this article is current as at 21 October 2026, and has been prepared by Employment Hero Pty Ltd (ABN 11 160 047 709) and its affiliates (Employment Hero). The views expressed here are general information only, provided in good faith to assist employers and employees, and should not replace professional advice. Some information comes from third-party data believed accurate but not independently verified. No warranties ensure it is complete, accurate, current, or fit for its intended use. Employment Hero disclaims responsibility for inaccuracies and any loss or damage from reliance on this information. You should research and seek professional advice before making decisions or relying on this article.