About 57 per cent of all the cases involved operational or frontline staff dealing with the public, 23 per cent were clerical and secretarial workers, department workmen and drivers, while the rest were professionals or managers in supervisory roles.

'Civil servants, like employees in other sectors, have to face rising expectations of their clients and changing service demands. In this process, they inevitably have to come to terms with some degree of stress at work,' Mr Wong said.

But he said the numbers of civil servants seeking such help had remained fairly stable, at 800 to 900 cases a year. He did not disclose the costs involved in providing the counselling services.

Mr Wong said each manager was responsible for helping staff members cope with work pressure - through reorganisation and streamlining of work procedures, counselling or reposting.

He said that when selecting officers for promotion, the government would consider their character, ability, experience and performance. That would include an assessment of their ability to cope with the level of work pressure expected at higher levels on a sustained basis.

Managers also provided training to meet the development needs of individual officers, at different stages, to enhance their capabilities, including the ability to manage stress.

Widespread concern about the intense work pressure faced by civil servants was voiced after assistant immigration director Lai Chun-ting, 46, jumped to his death from his home in October last year. Lai did not leave a note but a police investigator believed he had been under pressure at work.

Assistant police commissioner Cheung Chi-shum, 54, who jumped to his death from his Mid-Levels home last month, was also said to be suffering from stress. But police said there was no evidence to suggest his suicide was work related.