Employees now put in the equivalent of an extra day’s work at the weekend, according to new research from secretarial recruiter Office Angels.

The research shows that employees spend 1 hour 45 minutes washing and ironing clothes for work, 1 hour 16 minutes shopping for and making  packed lunches, 31 minutes looking for work clothes at the shops, 1 hour 19 minutes talking about work with friends and 1 hour 50 minutes every Sunday moaning about returning to work on Monday, with one in eight (12%) thinking about work for five hours or more.

David Clubb, managing director of Office Angels, says: “While it’s a bit of fun to see the time we spend making lunches or ironing clothes, these chores are obviously an inevitable part of free time for most of us. However, when it comes to worrying on a Sunday, which is more of a problem, there are steps you can take to reduce this fear.”