The EAP provider says the number of calls into their management support and consultation line rose by almost 20% in the period from September 2008 to the end of August 2009, compared with the same period the previous year.
Managers can use the service to refer an employee for direct support or simply call to talk to a professional about how best to tackle the problem of dealing with stressed employees.
The figures also reveal significant increases in other call volumes this year; calls related to depression and anxiety have risen by 25% and work-related stress cases are up by over 50% - which tends to confirm the effect the recession is having on the UK workforce.
FirstAssist says evidence that the calls are linked to the unstable economic environment can be illustrated by the fact that employment related counselling calls as a whole are up by nearly 30% and callers needing emotional support regarding redundancy increased by a staggering 178%.
Marcia Chambers, manager of the counselling department, said: "Managers need to be able to support staff in the midst of a financial crisis, or who are worried about their own or their partner's job security. Most managers are not trained to do this so it is vital for them to have somewhere to turn. It is good to see that they are using their EAP to ensure this expert support is available to their employees to help them deal with the situation before it adversely affects performance at work."
