Online recruitment site Monster asked browsers across Europe if they had ever fallen asleep at work. The results suggest it was an impressive achievement to find 21,000 Europeans awake enough to click on an online survey.

British and Irish surfers are the most likely to be dribbling onto their keyboards. Forty per cent of Irish respondents and 35 per cent of Brits admitted to dozing off at work.

The best place fora snooze was the desk, preferred by 13 per cent of those polled. Nine per cent of British respondents and eight per cent of Swedes like to have a kip in a meeting. While seven per cent of French workers prefer to take their naps in the toilet, which suggests they have more comfortable toilets or they are really, really tired.

Some 84 per cent of Dutch respondents claimed to have never slept at work, despite the temptation. Office life is just as lively in Italy where 82 per cent of workers claimed to have never slept at work.

Monster, providing a cunning excuse, says that overqualified employees are more likely to get bored, and therefore doze, than people who find their work challenging. Monster has some top tips for those wishing to avoid sleeping through the afternoon. These include fresh air, a high protein lunch, caffeine drinks and getting more sleep - but not while you're supposed to be working. ®

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