Over a quarter of office workers now describe themselves as unhappy in the wake of the economic downturn, according to a survey by recruitment consultancy Badenoch & Clark.

The rate of 26% is up from 21% in April 2007 and has been attributed to employees being asked to take on extra responsibilities as companies look to keep staff levels to a minimum.

The poll found that a tenth of workers now spend the equivalent of an extra day a week at work compared to the hours they put in at the start of the year.

"We have been running this index for a while now and levels of happiness amongst British office workers have remained quite static, so it's eye-opening to see such a big jump in unhappy workers over the last three months," said Neil Wilson, managing director of Badenoch & Clark.

More than a third of companies are not replacing people who go on maternity leave or take another position elsewhere, the research added.