A study for the mental health charity Mind found that almost 20 per cent of people had claimed they were ill because they could not cope with pressure in the office.
Eight per cent of the population left a job last year due to stress and more than a quarter of people said their weekend was ruined by the thought of returning to work on Monday morning - researchers found.
The study is released to coincide with the launch of the charity’s campaign to improve the work-life balance for employees.
It urged people to take practical steps to improve their working life, such as by “reclaiming” their lunch hour.
The study found that stress was badly affecting people’s sleeping patterns, general health and relationships.
It noted that a record number of prescriptions for anti-depressants were issued last year at 39.1m, while a quarter of people said stress was affecting their relationship with their spouse or partner.
The recession was cited as a powerful negative influence on happiness at work, as staff felt pressured into working longer hours without extra pay while fearing for their jobs.
One in four said they had cried at work because they could not cope with the stress.
More than one in 10 said they felt they had insufficient support from their manager.
According to separate research from the Shaw Trust, an employment charity for the disabled, half of managers believe their staff never suffer mental health problems.
Last year, the fit note was introduced to replace the sick note, an occupational health advice line was launched, and national stress management standards were brought into force to be monitored by the Health and Safety Executive.
However, Mind believes not enough is being done to tackle the issue of mental health in the workplace.
Paul Farmer, its chief executive, said: “Working conditions have been incredibly tough for the last couple of years, and the emotional fall out of the recession doesn’t just centre on people who have lost their jobs, but on people who are struggling to cope with the extra demands of working harder, longer hours, and under more pressure."
He added that it was in companies' interests to tackle mental health problems including stress.
“Businesses who look after their staff reap the rewards in reduced sickness absence and increased productivity.”
Last week, research from University College London was published in the European Heart Journal which suggested those who work more than 10 hours a day are 60% more likely to develop heart problems.
Around 1m people regularly work more than 48 hours a week, with 600,000 going beyond 60 hours – the point at which the individual is at acute risk of developing ill health.
According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, the working population of Britain in the first three months of this year was just below 29m.
Mental illness costs employers an estimated £26bn every year.
