Amid the highest unemployment rate in recent decades and massive job losses around the country, most workers feel happy to at least be employed. What they aren't feeling, however, is healthy.

    One in three workers has at least one symptom of clinical depression; 41 percent say they feel stressed sometimes, often, or very often; and one in five has trouble falling asleep often or very often. In all, 14 percent are being treated for high cholesterol and one in five is taking blood-pressure-lowering medication.

    In fact, the percentage of workers who say they're in excellent health has dropped from 34 percent in 2002 to 28 percent in 2008, according to a report recently released by the Families and Work Institute （FWI）, a nonprofit research company.

    Some workplaces are healthier than others

    Not all workplaces are created equal when it comes to health. In fact, 38 percent of workers at certain jobs -- called "effective" workplaces in the report -- were much more likely to say they were in excellent health. Conversely, only 19 percent of employees in workplaces with a low effectiveness rating reported being in excellent health.

    So what makes an effective workplace? Six factors make a difference. Workers may feel healthier if they have learning opportunities and challenge, a good fit between work and personal life, autonomy, having a supervisor who supports job success, economic security -- no surprise in this economy -- and a work climate of respect and trust.

    Feeling a lack of control in the workplace or not enough support from a supervisor may lead to feelings of helplessness which in turn can spiral into depression.

    According to the report, one of the biggest predictors of feeling healthy is a balance between work and personal life. If someone has difficulty with this balance, then they're going to be cutting back wherever they can," including on important components of a healthy lifestyle, like getting enough sleep, shopping for and preparing healthy food, and exercising.

    What employers--and employees--can do

    It's a tough economy, and many employers may feel that they have no choice but to cut corners. For example, the researchers found that employees with paid sick days and more paid vacation days reported better health. Although these options may cost employers, there are other things employers can do -- such as promoting a respectful work environment -- to become more effective workplaces.

    Allowing employees to work earlier or later could even benefit the company, for example, by extending hours of business or productivity each day. It can also help to survey employees and listen to their suggestions, which can bolster employees' feelings of control.

    Employees can take matters into their own hands too. Half of the workers in the survey didn't exercise regularly, and 25 percent smoked. In 2002, 21 percent were obese, but by 2008, that number had jumped to 26 percent. So taking charge of your health outside of the workplace is a good place to start.

    You can also gauge your workplace's effectiveness （and make suggestions for improvement） by taking the FWI's quiz.

    The survey, which is updated every five years, focused on about 2,800 workers who were salaried or paid on an hourly wage basis.

    在近二十幾年的高失業率，國內工作數量的大幅度減少過程中，大多數工作者為能有份工作而感到高興。然而他們卻沒有想到他們的健康問題。

    三個職工之中就有一個人至少患有一種抑郁癥的臨床癥狀；41%的職工說他們有時，經常，甚至頻繁感到壓抑；五分之一的人經常或頻繁有睡眠問題的困擾。總體看來，有14%的職工正在接受高膽固醇的治療，五分之一的職工正在降血壓。

    實際，最近家庭和工作研究會（一家非營利研究公司）調查報告表明認為自己健康的職工比例從2002年的34%降到2008年的28%.

    某些職業比其他的更健康

    談到健康，并不是所有的職業都是一樣的情況。事實上，某些工作既報告中所謂的"有效地"職業中有38%的職工更愿意認為他們是處于優秀的健康狀況中。相反，在那些低效率的職業中只有19%的員工認為他們是非常健康的。

    那么什么可以使工作有效呢？6種因素改變一切。當職工有學習并接受挑戰的機會，工作與私人生活的和諧狀態，擁有自主權，有一個管理者助他工作成功，經濟保障，有一個尊重與信任的工作環境，他會感覺自己是健康的。

    感到在工作中失去控制，或從主管那里得不到足夠的支持可能就導致了這種無助感，也就導致了壓抑感。

    報告顯示，對感到健康最大預測就是工作與私人生活之間的平衡。如果感到很難維持這種平衡，那他們就會又回到原點，包括健康生活方式的重要部分，例如睡眠充足，購買并準備健康的飲食，以及鍛煉。

    雇主與被雇者該如何做

    這是一個經濟艱難的時代，很多雇主認為他們別無選擇，只能縮小空間。例如，研究人員發現帶薪休病假和享有帶薪假日的受雇人員更健康。盡管這些會使雇主花掉一些成本，然而擁有一個更加有效率的工作地點還有其他是他們能做的，像是制造一個相互尊重的工作環境。