The study found that 45% of working adults in the accountancy industry believe that businesses are not doing enough to support the physical and mental wellbeing of their employees, and 75% were looking for better support.

Threequarters of over 2,000 employees polled also said they would use wellbeing services if their employer provided them, with 44% interested in being offered counselling, 35% wanting health checks and 31% looking for treatment for back care and posture issues.

David Capper, commercial director of Westfield Health, said: ‘The total number of UK working days lost to stress, anxiety and depression resulting from long working hours is 12.5m days.

‘Therefore, it makes sense for employers to relieve some of the pressure through wellbeing initiatives. Not only would they be supporting our economy, they’ll make huge cost savings by looking after their staff’s health, with presenteeism now costing businesses up to three times more than absenteeism.’

Findings from Deloitte’s 2018 Global Human Capital Trends survey suggest that 88% of business and HR leaders in the UK are working towards improving employee wellbeing, such as by offering wellness and work-life balance programmes in the workplace, compared with a global average of 82%.

UK organisations are more likely to offer employees mental health support than their global counterparts, with 36% of UK businesses putting mental health counselling programmes in place, against a global average of 21%.

The survey found 59% of UK organisations report having limited or basic wellbeing programmes, typically focused on traditional interventions such as adjusted working patterns and additional exceptional leave. While  36% offer more, just 5%  claim to offer ‘extensive’ wellbeing programmes, which are actively tracked to measure the impact on workplace productivity and efficiency.

However, 68% say that wellbeing programmes have a positive impact on supporting employee retention in their organisation, while 64% say it promotes employee productivity and improves results.

Separately, efforts by KPMG to improve mental health in the workplace have received national recognition.

Jessica Carmody, chair of the firm’s mental health network, Be Mindful, has been named employer champion in this year’s workplace wellbeing index awards organised by the mental health charity Mind.  KPMG in the UK has also been awarded a silver ranking in the index, highlighting that the firm has made demonstrable achievements in promoting staff mental health, as well as taking action over a number of key areas.

The charity said Carmody has been recognised for being a positive force for change within KPMG during her four years with the firm.  Through her commitment to advocating mental health awareness Jessica has reached out to over ten thousand colleagues.  She has grown the Be Mindful network to almost 600 members in the time she has been chair and has run over 100 events throughout the UK.

Jessica Carmody, senior manager and chair of KPMG’s Be Mindful network said of the firm’s silver accolade: ‘As a firm we are committed to providing colleagues with an inclusive culture in which to work, encouraging conversations around wellbeing and offering support when colleagues need this.  It is vital that we keep talking about mental health, so we can change attitudes and behaviours from a culture where people may be “suffering in silence” to one of openness, compassion and support.’

Report by Pat Sweet