The increasing integration of robots into production systems worldwide emphasizes the growing importance of automation, which is often crucial for maintaining global competitiveness. While full automation offers many advantages, the dynamic nature of modern orders requires greater flexibility. This has led to a growing interest in human-robot collaboration (HRC), which can improve the efficiency and flexibility of production systems. Given the importance of HRC, it is essential to create safe, human-centered environments that promote worker well-being. To investigate this, we designed an experiment in which participants collaborated with a collaborative robot at different utilization levels (low, high and adjusted) to assess their well-being. Participants’ stress levels were determined using data collected by an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor and analyzed using Kubios HRV software. The results, supported by descriptive statistics and robust non-parametric analyzes, highlight the crucial role of workers’ utilization levels in influencing well-being. The study emphasizes the importance of considering both the worker’s perspective and the company’s objectives when designing collaborative human-robot workplaces. A balance between worker productivity and well-being is essential to create efficient, sustainable and human-centered work environments.