Office workers do 10 non-work tasks at work each day, poll claims

A further four in 10 fear their employer checking their internet history, survey suggests

People work at dusk on various floors of the modern office development at 20 Cannon Street near St Paul's Cathedral on February 06 2013 London, England (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Employees do 10 non-work-related tasks in the office each day, including holiday shopping, web browsing and online banking, a new poll has claimed.

A study of 2,000 office workers found 37 per cent had checked the menu of a restaurant they were planning to visit - while half regularly checked the weather outside when they should have been working.

Employees also estimated they could finish their work in as little as six hours, yet were simultaneously too busy to spend time outside - spending less than 15 minutes outdoors per day.

Workers estimated they spent 30 per cent of their day browsing social media, printing personal documents and buying concert tickets, among other personal chores.

Seven in 10 had even researched or a booked a holiday in work time.

As a consequence, more than one-quarter had received “a slap on the wrist” from bosses for taking care of too much personal business on work time.

One in 10 admitted to having missed an important work deadline as a result of prioritising non-work-related tasks - with a similar number even being fired.

Daisy Whitfield-Davis, public relations manager for Yakult UK and Ireland, which commissioned the research, said: “It’s difficult to focus on work all the time, and the results show workers like to think of themselves from time to time.

“Getting outdoors is important, and by getting out in natural sunlight, office workers will get valuable vitamin D – but many aren’t getting as much as they need.”

Four in five workers agreed it was not possible to be 100-per-cent focused on work all the time, and on average spent three hours a week performing personal tasks.

A further four in 10 though they would be in trouble were their employer to check their internet history.

Despite the benefits of getting outdoors, 76 per cent of office workers regularly failed to get out of the office once per day.

Top 20 non-work tasks employees do on work time:

Checking the weather

Browsing non-work-related websites

Checking your bank balance

Paying a bill

Checking train times

Using the photocopier/scanner for your own documents

Checking a menu of a restaurant you were planning to visit

Booking a doctor's appointment

Printing off concert tickets

Browsing Facebook

Instant messaging friends

Booking a dental appointment

Booking car in for MOT/service/repair

Making restaurant bookings

Comparing insurance prices

Clothes shopping online

Posting personal mail

Googling a medical condition you have/suspect you have

Organising a night out with friends

Sorting out car insurance

SWNS