While flu tends to go away of its own accord, stress at work certainly doesn't

Carole Spiers

The survey of 500 employees discovered one in four employees worked six days a week or more.

And a third are putting in more than the 48 hours a week, suggested as a maximum by EU directives.

Ms Spiers said: "Each year we conduct research into stress and each year the figure just keeps on getting worse."

Productivity decline

Other findings revealed by the survey include:

• Three out of five people are working unpaid overtime.
• Workers in Yorkshire and Humberside have the longest hours in the UK.
• Employees in Scotland work the shortest hours.
• One in five people suffering from stress seek professional help to improve their health.
• Work productivity declines for many people with stress.
• Others have found the illness affects their relationships with friends and family.

Ms Spiers said the problem of stress must be addressed by employers and employees alike.

She said firms need to stop treating the illness as taboo and "look at their employees as their most valuable asset".

Ms Spiers advised workers: "Make time for your health, for your family, for your friends - move away from this frenetic activity."

She added: "If we were talking about a flu epidemic rather than stress at work there would be a public outcry about the scale of the problem.

"But while flu tends to go away of its own accord, stress at work certainly doesn't."