A couple of quiet beers after work can easily get out of hand

Workers spend an average of 2.5 days hungover on the job, with people living in the south and north-east of England the most likely to turn up 'half cut'.

For some, the office is a no-go area and nationally an average 2.3 days are taken off sick due to boozing. One-in-three people admit taking 5 days off.

More than half those polled said longer pub opening hours would hit output.

More liberal

This underlines the concerns voiced about government plans to relax licensing hours from the middle of next year.

While supporters say it will lead to less drunkenness and a more restrained approach to alcohol, critics claim it will promote longer binge-drinking sessions as well as loutish behaviour.

Among 18 to 25-year-olds, 55% of those questioned said they thought the change to licensing laws was likely to damage a workforce's output.

Attitudes also have changed, with many people finding it more acceptable for employees to turn up bit wobbly.

Unsurprisingly, a growing number of managers and directors are unhappy that colleagues turn up unfit to do their job.

Local brew

Drinking affects different industries to varying degrees, the survey claims.

Workers in the media sector are the most likely to arrive feeling a bit tired and emotional. By contrast, manufacturers have the most abstemious staff, it says.

Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!

Even the bosses have their moments, with one in three admitting they still clock on while feeling the effects of the night before.

Some of us deal with it better than others and according to the report workers in Wales suffer the most from a subsequent drop in productivity.

Reed estimates that some 10 million working days are lost due to people hiding under the duvet.

That number rises to 29 million if you take into account those people who have struggled in, but then spend the day sweating and dodging jobs.

The survey questioned more than 8,400 people, across most major industries.