Wellbeing Support for Executive Assistants

Wellbeing support for executive assistants: when ‘exceptional’ becomes unsafe

In many UK organisations, the ‘indispensable’ executive assistant is praised for responsiveness, discretion and an almost pre-emptive understanding of what leaders need. Long days, late-night emails and weekend logistics are quietly framed as commitment rather than risk. Yet more than 60% of UK PAs say workplace stress may be harming their health, with long hours, heavy workloads and lack of support cited as key drivers. That dissonance matters.

Executive assistants sit in a structurally awkward position: high responsibility, low formal power, and constant proximity to senior pressure. They are often the only person in their role, holding confidential information, unable to share dilemmas with peers. When the implicit standard is to “always say yes” and be “always on”, the predictable result is boundary erosion, not isolated burnout. This is not a resilience gap; it is a design problem.

The invisible load behind ‘always on’

Day to day, many EAs absorb work that falls between formal lines of accountability: smoothing relationships, pre‑empting conflict, shielding leaders from overload, and quietly fixing operational slips before they surface. Research shows they “juggle multiple tasks” and feel they must be “constantly available”. High responsibility without commensurate recognition or reward is repeatedly linked to concern about long-term health.

The complication is that these same behaviours are often exactly what executives praise. Being reachable late at night, picking up personal admin, or rescuing unrealistic schedules are treated as evidence of loyalty. For the EA, saying no can feel like career risk, especially where one senior leader effectively gatekeeps progression. Difficulty setting boundaries is then pathologised as a personal weakness rather than a rational response to power dynamics.

Viewed through a wellbeing lens, the role as currently constructed is almost engineered to generate strain. Structured, behaviour change‑based support that helps EAs practise new responses to these pressures is therefore more realistic than asking individuals simply to “be more resilient”.

Isolation, discretion and the stigma of needing help

The loneliness of the EA role is not just about working alone. Articles on executive support describe EAs as “caught between senior leadership and the wider team”, bound by confidentiality and expectations of discretion. They may know more about organisational tensions than most managers, yet feel least able to process that information with others. Concerns about “professionalism” can make sharing struggles feel risky.

A first-person account from an EA in a professional services firm describes anxiety and stress escalating during remote work, leading them to seek mental health support for the first time. That step was initially “daunting”, reflecting the stigma that still surrounds professional help. One in five adults will experience mental illness each year; for EAs, the barriers to early support are amplified by visibility to senior leaders and fear of being seen as no longer “reliable”.

When over 60% of PAs already fear stress is harming their health, waiting until crisis point is an avoidable failure of system design. Preventative, confidential routes to support are essential – including anonymous, self-directed tools and assessments that can be accessed without going through a manager or GP.

From invisible service to supported knowledge work

If HR continues to frame EA stress as an individual coping issue, the structural contradictions remain untouched. A more honest framing recognises EA work as relational knowledge work: complex coordination, emotional labour, and gatekeeping under uncertainty. That shift opens different options.

First, boundaries need to be explicit, not left to personal negotiation. Contracted hours, out‑of‑hours expectations and escalation rules can be codified in role profiles and discussed with executives as part of performance management, not as a private battle between an EA and their line manager. Here, tools that support habit change – such as structured multi‑month journeys that train mental fitness, not just crisis coping – can help EAs practise boundary‑setting and stress management in small, repeatable steps. This distinction matters.

Second, isolation is a design issue.

Building EA-specific peer and champion support

Evidence from a healthcare setting shows that champion-led wellbeing initiatives using strengths-based peer support are both feasible and positively received, provided leadership backs them and they are structurally integrated. The same logic can be applied to EA populations.

Creating confidential EA networks or appointing EA wellbeing champions gives assistants a space to compare expectations, share strategies and normalise saying “no” to unsafe workloads. These spaces work best when they are not an extra, invisible task. Protected time, clear terms of reference and visible endorsement from senior leaders are critical for sustainability.

Digital tools can lower the barrier further. A mental fitness platform with a large, human‑curated wellbeing library allows EAs to access content on boundaries, sleep, anxiety and performance in private, at the point of need. Microlearning that fits into a 10‑minute break between meetings is more realistic than lengthy workshops. Behavioural science‑based habit formation – for example, five‑day experiments on switching off devices at a set time – helps translate good intentions into daily practice. New‑generation EAPs such as Leafyard are built around these kinds of guided journeys and behavioural nudges rather than one‑off sessions.

Normalising early, professional support

The EA who sought counselling described the first contact as intimidating but ultimately transformative in understanding and managing anxiety. The lesson for HR is not to wait for that moment of crisis.

Same‑day, confidential access to accredited counsellors via phone or video, routed through intelligent triage, can make help-seeking feel safer and more practical. When support is available 24/7, EAs who work across time zones or flex around executive travel can still reach someone without negotiating diaries or explaining absences. Crucially, anonymity between user and employer reduces fear that accessing help will be visible to the very leaders whose diaries they manage. Platforms like Leafyard combine this kind of always‑on support with self‑serve tools, so early help becomes a normal part of working life rather than a last resort.

Framing this as mental fitness, not failure, also matters. Positioning guided video coaching, structured journalling and resilience training as performance tools – akin to “a gym for the brain” – aligns better with how many EAs see themselves: high performers who need sustainable ways to stay effective, not patients to be fixed. Leafyard’s approach, for example, emphasises measurable improvements in focus, sleep and stress management, which can resonate with both EAs and the leaders they support.

Making EA wellbeing a test of organisational integrity

Champion-led programmes in healthcare only endured where wellbeing was woven into organisational routines and decision-making. The same will be true for EA support. Without structural backing, peer forums fade, boundaries slide and “exceptional” behaviour reverts to meaning “unlimited”.

For HR leaders, EA wellbeing is therefore more than a niche concern. It is a litmus test of whether wellbeing, DEI and fair‑reward narratives genuinely reach high‑responsibility, low‑formal‑power roles. Behavioural analytics that segment engagement and stress indicators by role can make this visible at board level, turning EA wellbeing from anecdote into a line item in governance and risk discussions.

A practical starting point is modest but concrete. Map where long hours, “always on” expectations and isolation are built into EA practice. Identify any existing peer or champion-style mechanisms and where confidential routes to professional help already sit. Then commit to one structural change with executive sponsorship – for example, formal availability boundaries, an EA peer forum with protected time, or a dedicated mental fitness journey tailored to executive support roles.

When executive assistants are treated as strategic partners and their wellbeing is protected by intelligent systems, not just personal grit, the whole leadership infrastructure becomes more sustainable.