A new study from Quidco.com has found that office workers in the UK are typically spending £1,400 via safe shopping online during working hours over the course of a year, according to the Daily Mail. And, as Christmas approaches, consumers are anticipating spending two days of their company’s time looking for gifts, with the annual total running to nine days.

While it may be widely accepted that people are going to use the internet to research products and commit to purchases while at work, the survey also found that plenty of employers are not that happy about the trend.

Twelve per cent of those questioned said that they had been formally disciplined by managers at work after being caught carrying out safe shopping online, with over a third of respondents saying that their boss had walked in on them while they were in the act of browsing e-commerce sites.

Each year, people are spending the equivalent of an average month’s wages online when they are at their desks, with 18 minutes a day taken up with e-commerce activities, which may or may not be sanctioned by those in charge.

Forty four per cent said that they hit the web to look for products straight after booting up their work PCs, while others wait a little longer, but only so that they can be sure that their boss’ attention is elsewhere.

No doubt, there will be those who complain about the rampant use of online shopping sites during working hours, with similar studies in the past claiming that this is costing the UK economy billions, as it dents productivity. But the distraction of the internet has helped to create one of the world’s most buoyant e-commerce markets, meaning that retailers are certainly pleased with this state of affairs.