Three quarters (72%) of UK employees feel nervous, tense or edgy at least 5% of the time they are at work, a poll shows.
The survey of 3,000 workers by Unum found this figure goes up to 82% among 24 to 34 year-olds.
A further 48% of employees feel tired or worn out at least once a week.
Liz Walker, HR director at the employee benefits provider, said early and focused intervention can help to prevent a short-term concern manifesting into a more serious illness.
“Even simple steps such as reducing a workload, or ensuring the employee is aware of resources such as employee assistance programmes, can have a big impact,” she suggested.
A separate survey by Peldon Rose, the workplace consultants, found mental health and wellbeing is the cause employees most want their employers to champion, cited by 72% of respondents.
This was rated as more important than equality (48%), sustainability (38%) and diversity (31%).