New research from Salary Finance, designed to coincide with National Stress Awareness Month, found that 40% of Bris have financial worries (40%) and this is linked closely with stress and depression.

The survey of over 10,000 British workers found those with financial worries suffer with stress – 73% – and depression – 46%. Stress levels were 380% higher and depression levels 490% higher than those who did not have financial worries.

Even the wealthy weren’t immune. Of those that earned more than £100,000 per annum, over half (55%) said they suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. Money troubles also prompt sleepless nights and affected the quality of their work. The group with financial worries were eight times less likely to finish their daily tasks, and almost six times more likely to report troubled relationships with co-workers.

Asesh Sarkar, CEO at Salary Finance, said: “This added level of stress is something that employers need to address by removing the taboo of talking about money worries in the workplace. It is not a matter to be taken lightly, but interestingly is something that people are happy to share with their employers. In our research 77% of respondents said they trust their employer to treat their financial situation as confidential. This puts employers in a great position to really help their staff become more financially stable and therefore happier in their everyday lives.”

The overall impact of financial stress on British business is estimated at £39-51 billion annually, equating to almost 2.4% of UK GDP.