The average working day in the UK now runs from 08:37 to 17:37 rather than the traditional nine to five, according to new research from Microsoft.
However, while the working day is longer, with employees working an average of 39 days of overtime per year, many of the employees surveyed admitted that this is not a result of high workload.
Almost half of those surveyed said that they worked overtime because it was easier to get things done when the office was less busy, while 21 per cent said that overtime was connected to their desire to be successful.
Employees waste nearly three hours a day being "unproductive" the survey found, with an average of 54 minutes lost surfing the internet, 46 minutes spent formatting documents and fixing computer mishaps and 35 minutes spent chatting.
"Spending time formatting a document or having to deal with day-to-day computer mishaps can easily disrupt your day and as the results of the survey show, end up costing you up to two hours," said Gary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Lancaster.
"Taking time out in advance to learn a few helpful shortcuts can come in really useful – better to spend time learning some tips and tricks than waste hours battling your computer when you are on deadline," he added.
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