Millions of UK workers are likely to be suffering from depression and panic attacks because they are so stressed out by their jobs, research has found.
Of 3,300 workers surveyed in an online poll by the Work Life Balance Centre and the universities of Keele, Coventry and Wolverhampton, two-thirds said they had been made ill by work.
Nearly half claimed they suffered from depression, while 43% have had to deal with anxiety or panic attacks.
Eight out of 10 people admitted having a problem juggling the competing demands of work and home.
The findings also showed that many people work over their contracted hours – one in 10 notched up a minimum of 49 hours a week, yet only one in 100 was contracted to do so.
Julie Hurst, director of the Work Life Balance Centre, said depression and anxiety had become the “silent epidemic” in the workplace, yet much could be done to reduce both problems.
“I would urge all employers to look carefully at these issues and arrange access to the appropriate forms of help, as it’s in the long-term interests of the business to support healthy, and ultimately productive, employees,” she said.
