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Half of UK employees think that starting a new job is more stressful than sitting in the dentist's chair, new research has found.

A poll of 1,100 workers also found that 37 per cent of people thought that the first day in a new job was more stressful than going on a first date.

Meanwhile a quarter (25 per cent) said that beginning work in a new role made them more anxious than they would feel taking an exam, and 30 per cent said the prospect was more stressful than meeting their in-laws.

For six per cent the idea of starting a new job even sends their stress levels higher than the concept of having children.

Office Angels, the recruitment firm which conducted the research, claims that nerves and poor preparation are likely to be responsible for the mistakes that some new employees make during their first days in a job.

More than three quarters (78 per cent) said they had committed a gaffe within their first week of starting work, with 42 per cent admitting to mixing up colleagues' names and 34 per cent revealing that they had got lost in the office.

A further 21 per cent said they had turned up late for their new job, while 11 per cent had made the blunder of mistaking a senior colleague for a junior member of staff.

Office Angels claims that new employees can take steps to ease their anxieties about starting a job, including by e-mailing their employer to ask important questions before beginning work.

But on a reassuring note Office Angels managing director David Clubb stressed: "All good employers will recognise what a challenge the first day can be and will do their best to make you feel welcome and at home."