Workers in the UK are among the least stressed in Europe, according to a new survey by global recruitment agency Kelly Services.

Some 20% of British workers found their workplace too stressful, just above employees in the Netherlands and Spain where 16% of workers found work stressful, way below the European average of 27%.

Workers in Switzerland and Sweden suffered the highest levels of anxiety in their job, according to the research, with 33% under stress.

The survey, which was carried out among 19,000 people across 12 countries, also found that stress levels increased with age, starting at 19% of workers in the 15-24 age bracket, rising to 23% for those aged 45 and above.

The number of hours worked also contributed to levels of stress. Of those who worked 30 hours or less 18% were stressed compared with 50% among those who worked more than 51 hours.

Levels of stress also affected job satisfaction. Of those workers who said they faced too much stress, only 28% were happy in their jobs.