A survey of employees across Europe confirmed what many Irish workers have long suspected. Our working weeks have lengthened significantly since the boom years of the late 1990s.

More than half of us spend over 40 hours a week at our desks - and nearly 20 per cent stay in the office for more than 50 hours.

Some 36 per cent of respondents in the Republic said they typically worked 40-50 hours a week. Seventeen per cent said they worked more than 50 hours, 37 per cent 25-40 hours and 10 per cent under 25 hours. But we still lag behind the European average, according to the study by online recruitment agency Monster, which found 57 per cent of employees across 12 states worked more than 40 hours a week. Spain, Italy and Norway had the most dedicated workers, according to the poll of 20,567 visitors to Monster regional websites.

The Danes and Finns emerged as the continent's slouches: nearly 50 per cent and 43 per cent respectively work 25-40 hours a week.

Citizens in the EU are prohibited from working more than 48 hours a week under a 1993 European Commission directive, although exceptions are permitted for police, soldiers, doctors and some self-employed.

The economic downturn may be forcing people to work longer,suggested Mr Alan Townsend, managing director of Monster.ie.

Higher stress levels and lower quality of life could result, Mr Townsend warned. Greater flexibility was a possible solution.

"In the current challenging economic times companies may need staff to work harder and longer than ever before, which might lead to increased stress levels," he said