Research commissioned by Business in the Community (BITC) found that almost a third of workers (31 per cent) believe their health is being neglected at work.

Also, 62 per cent of employees surveyed said they do not believe that bosses view staff as assets worth investing in, while 46 per cent reported that apathy towards workers' wellbeing is taking its toll on productivity.

Among the complaints made by staff were that they were discouraged from taking sick days when unwell, prevented from taking a full lunch hour, put under pressure to work overtime and were suffering from depression, stress and panic attacks.

Managing director of BITC Stephen Howard stated: "Our aim is to increase business accountability and competitiveness by helping companies introduce simple health and wellbeing programmes that can be effectively measured against the bottom line."

In response to the findings, BITC has launched a national campaign calling for at least three quarters of all FTSE 100 firms to be reporting publicly on the wellbeing of their staff by 2011.

BITC aims to encourage firms to improve the impact they have on society and the environment.