The insurance giant staged the pilot across two of its sites - Cardiff and Hove - between November 2010 and April 2011, testing three initiatives.

These were training for line managers on handling cases of stress; an online programme for staff to monitor their health and raise awareness of pressure points; and additional preventative support for those suffering from low emotional wellbeing.

The initiatives registered a 15 per cent improvement in absence rates compared to the same period in 2009/10 - resulting in an absence ratio of 4 per cent of days lost - saving the company an estimated £68,000 for the pilot group alone.

Legal & General now intend to roll out the programme across its whole workforce. Nicky Richards, HR Consultant for Legal & General, said: 'Our own internal wellbeing pilot has demonstrated that early intervention and wellbeing programmes can have a significant impact on absence rates in businesses. Our experiences highlight the importance of early intervention before people become unwell and the appropriate support in place to help people at work when they are ill'.

Legal & General's figures show that 29 per cent of its absence is linked to mental health, the highest individual cause ahead of colds and flu (17 per cent) and musculo-skeletal problems (6 per cent).