Almost a quarter of employees felt they were caught in a trap at work, according to a poll by workplace experts Croner, carried out on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley (16 August). 

 It found that 24% said that the Elvis classic ‘Suspicious Minds’ was the song that best described their workplace and 13% felt ‘All Shook Up’ by work because they were too worried or stressed by not being able to keep to deadlines.

The poll showed that 13% of employees had a manager who recognised people’s skills and took them with them as they move up and on in their own careers. However, 11% of respondents were not so complimentary, saying their boss favoured some colleagues over others. Only 5% of those asked felt their boss had a ‘Wooden Heart’.

Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner, says: “Stress and feelings of loneliness, isolation and being trapped are as pertinent today as they were in 1977 - perhaps even more so in modern Britain where the pressure to succeed and long hours worked mean that career-minded individuals push themselves to the limit.

 “Employers need to be alert to the dangers and develop strategies for tackling any issues that employees have before they become really serious problems and start to undermine employees’ confidence and feelings of worth and value.”