UK adults spend more time on social networks at work than they do at home and in their free time.

UK adults spend more time on social networks at work than they do at home and in their free time.

According to a survey of more than 1,000 people conducted by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, the average Briton in full-time employment admits to spending 1.5 hours per day on social network sites while they are supposed to be working.

When asked about their social networking usage in their free time, the average respondent claims to spend 45 minutes per day on social networks, or ‘5.25 hours’ in a week.

The most common times for switching on to social networks at work is between 10am and 11am and 3pm and 4pm.

Of all the respondents that do admit to spending more time on social networks when they should have in fact been working, 46 per cent blame ‘ease of discreet access’ through phones and on their computers as the main reason.

George Charles, marketing director at VoucherCodesPro.co.uk says that, particularly for those with office-based jobs, it’s not difficult to see why employees might be tempted to access their social network profiles when they should be working.

'Especially with the introduction of things like Tweet Deck and Facebook’s push notifications, it’s actually harder than ever to switch off,' he adds.

'What employees do need to be careful of is their boss finding out they aren’t working when they thought they were. Perhaps it’s best to leave social networking for lunch breaks and after work!'

See also: Rules for time off work paid or unpaid