Contractors and other professionals must address the issue of increasing stress in the workplace, one expert maintains.

Stephen Overell, associate director of policy at The Work Foundation said that along with policymakers and employers, workers must improve their workplace stress.

He points to the recession as a factor in the increase in stress, adding that it was already an issue for workers in the UK prior to the economic downturn.

"The UK does have some quite serious job quality problems that are not always recognised as much as they should be, and they are likely to deteriorate in the current climate," added Mr Overell.

This comes after a survey by Business Environment found that 31 per cent of office workers have felt pressure to work harder and take shorter lunch breaks due to the economic downturn, with over half of those surveyed taking less than half an hour for lunch.