Admiral’s proactive approach to stress management at work
By providing a proactive approach to stress management, Admiral has supported colleagues to change their mindset with skills and tools empowering them to achieve a better work life balance and handle high pressure situations.
About Admiral
Admiral employs over 11,000 colleagues in the UK and is the only FTSE100 company headquartered in Wales. Admiral was founded in 1993 and is an international financial services group with customers in France, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Admiral prides itself on being a Great Place to Work and makes supporting colleagues’ health, safety and wellbeing a top priority. The business is always striving to improve its proactivity around health and wellbeing topics to create a workplace where colleagues feel empowered to manage their wellbeing – supporting their mental health, happiness and performance.
Admiral’s approach is based on five key pillars of workplace wellbeing; good health, good work, good relationships, good resources and good culture.
The challenge
Admiral aims to support and provide the necessary skills to colleagues to manage their mental health in and outside of the workplace.
Paul Billington, Senior People Partner for Health & Wellbeing in the UK business, recognised an increasing need to take more proactive steps to support colleagues’ mental health and wellbeing.
What did Admiral do?
Admiral’s reactive, in the moment support is expansive; including solutions-based counselling, the Employee Assistance Programme and Mental Health First Aiders. Colleagues can also access practical resources through a dedicated intranet site, covering mental health, physical health, neurodiversity, financial wellbeing, workplace adjustments and DSE, and coaching and development. This is complemented by targeted programmes and partnerships with external providers.
To support this broad offering, Admiral has also developed a preventative strategy which is underpinned by their “Human Sustainability Model.” By building pathways to preventative solutions and supporting colleagues with useful tools, they are equipping colleagues for challenges at every life stage, both in the workplace and beyond.
As an example, Admiral worked with an external expert in cultivating emotional balance and other cognitive skills to deliver the ‘Train Your Mind’ programme, which focused on four key areas:
Session 1 – Introduction: Training the Mind & Cognitive Reframing
Offers strategies to reduce unhelpful thoughts, build resilience during uncertainty and promote everyday wellbeing.
Session 2 – Building Courage and Letting Go
- Promotes acceptance of what can’t be changed
- Lowers stress
- Builds resilience at work
- Encourages positive action for better emotional balance.
Session 3 – Navigating Burnout & Healthy Boundaries
- Detects early burnout signs and offers prevention tips.
- Advises setting boundaries to preserve energy and focus.
- Promotes work-life balance and stress management for ongoing wellbeing.
Session 4 – Navigating Difficult Emotions: A Practical Guide
- Provides ways to control emotions, reduce impulsivity, and respond calmly under stress.
- Supports emotional stability and mental clarity for improved interactions.
All colleagues had the opportunity to attend the series of webinars that were developed, and recordings remain available on our intranet for those that wish to return to the material.
The results
The programme began as a series of webinars and was one of the most successful wellbeing programmes that Admiral has hosted for their colleagues. It’s currently being developed into a formal course for everyone within Admiral’s UK business.
Providing a proactive approach to stress has enabled colleagues to change their mindset and develop their own skills and tools to have a better work life balance and handle high pressure situations as best as they can. More importantly, it helps to approach life in general with the right framework and tools that aren’t just for the workplace.
Reflecting on the work Admiral has carried out to date, Paul shared:
“Proactively investing in mental wellbeing isn’t just about creating a healthier workplace—it’s about equipping people with tools that can be applied to many aspects of life. When we prioritise mental health early, we build resilience, unlock potential and support our shared commitment to human sustainability model of work.”
Top tip for other employers
Paul Billington’s key recommendations to other organisations are to:
- Design a colleague-focussed approach based on their needs
- Provide a proactive approach that is assisting colleagues’ mental health and wellbeing now, and for the future
- Build an honest culture and incorporate this focus into all areas of the colleague proposition from policies, training, relationships and ways of working.