Many city workers in the UK are suffering from a lack of sunlight, the findings of a new report suggest.

Produced by BT, the research found that the majority of such people experience less than an hour’s sunlight per day, with a quarter seeing less than 20 minutes.

It was also discovered that two-thirds of employees feel depressed at the thought of not being able to get away from their desks.

"Lack of sunshine or outdoors activity has an enormous effect on morale and productivity is likely to drop in tandem," warned Stephen Alambritis, spokesperson for the Federation for Small Businesses.

Meanwhile, Dave Hughes, director of wireless broadband at BT Retail, added that, as a result of mobile working technology, staff can remain productive while not being "chained to their desks".

However, research recently produced by the Confederation of British Industry and KPMG suggested that 69 per cent of UK employers either never or only occasionally accept staff requests to work away from the office.