The most stressful point of the working week is 11.18am on a Monday morning, a study has revealed.
Catching up with emails and workloads after the weekend break leaves the average Brit feeling stressed just two hours and 18 minutes after arriving at the office.
Researchers also found seven out of ten Brits feel stressed at some point during the working week.
And more than half of the nation’s workforce feels so tense when they get home in the evenings they need a glass of wine or a beer to chill out.
Amazingly, almost a third have even called in sick because they have reached the end of their tether – while 12 per cent have quit their job altogether due to the pressure.
Sue Weir, chief executive of Leading healthcare cash plan provider Medicash, which carried out the study, said: ”Coming back into work after a fun weekend can be difficult thanks to the inbox full of emails and the mountain of work you face.
”So it’s not surprising that it only takes a couple of hours for the stress levels to shoot up.
”Feeling stressed at work not only has an effect on your professional life but also on your home life and the people around you.
”But taking regular breaks and going out for lunch can help you to relax in between jobs and hopefully calm you down to ease the stress.”
The poll of 3,000 workers revealed a heavy workload is the most common cause of stress in the workplace for 38 per cent of people, while 36 per cent put it down to difficult clients or customers.
A third get worked up when their computer freezes when they are in the middle of something and 31 per cent reached boiling point when their boss asks them to do too much work.
A phone which doesn’t stop ringing, a slow internet connection and bitching colleagues all add to our stress levels at work.
But six per cent of workers claim to feel stressed all the time, while another 28 per cent feel this way most of the time.
And more than half have been so worried or anxious about events at work they have lost sleep, with 21 per cent of those losing five or more nights of kip within the past month.
More than a quarter have also taken time off work due to stress.
Researchers also found that 52 per cent of people have burst into tears when reaching their boiling point at work, and 49 per cent have shouted at a colleague.
Shockingly 18 per cent have thrown something or hit someone and 29 per cent have ended up drinking too much alcohol to relieve their tension.
A third of people keep it all bottled up inside and hide their true feelings.
Medicash’s Sue Weir added: ”Small amounts of pressure at work can enhance our performance but if that pressure becomes unremitting it can lead to sickness and long term absenteeism which is good for neither employees or employers.
”With many Britons clearly experiencing unacceptable levels of stress at work, adopting a preventative approach to healthcare, exercising regularly and eating healthily have a real role to play in helping to redress the balance.”
Top ten stress triggers
1. Heavy workload
2. Dealing with difficult clients/customers
3. Computer freezing when you are in the middle of something
4. Boss asking you to do too much work
5. Computer taking too long to get going
6. Phone ringing non-stop
7. Boss asking you to do something which isn’t in your job description
8. Printer breaking
9. The internet not working
10. Colleagues bitching about eachother
