Charity urges action over staff health

The British Heart Foundation said the poll of 1,200 people nationwide painted a “depressing picture”. It found one in eight in the region were deskbound through the day and a quarter managed 20 minutes or less activity.

Nearly a third went in search of a quick fix to boost their energy by eating chocolate. Almost half said they felt stressed at work each day amid evidence two in five employers have seen an increase in stress-related absence in the worsening economic climate.

The charity is urging employers and sign up to its free Health at Work programme to increase wellbeing in the workplace.

Lisa Purcell, project manager 
for the programme, said: “We spend 60 per cent of our day at work and it’s time for employers to make health and wellbeing 
an essential part of the working day.”