Almost a quarter (23 per cent) of jobseekers carry out telephone interviews while at work, with half saying they update their CV at work, according to a poll of 2,000 jobseekers by job site Monster.co.uk.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) spend more than three hours per week looking for jobs at work, 16 per cent more than five hours and 7 per cent more than ten hours.

Respondents believe the job hunting hasn’t gone unnoticed, with 40 per cent saying they think their boss knows they are looking and 12 per cent saying they have actually been caught by their boss or another colleague. One in 50 of those questioned has actually lost their job this way.

A medical appointment is the most popular excuse for absence (23 per cent), closely followed by a home delivery (22 per cent) and a pet emergency (14 per cent). Some 6 per cent of respondents even fabricate the death of a relative to explain their absence.

Isabelle Ratinaud, spokesperson for Monster UK & Ireland says, ‘Looking for a new role can be time-consuming and many people are clearly so desperate to move that they will spend hours looking and applying for roles while they’re supposed to be doing their current job. But while this may be tempting, it is important that job seekers try to limit their hunt to lunchtimes, evenings and weekends wherever possible.

If your boss finds out you’re job hunting on their watch, this could not only affect your reference, it could even result in disciplinary action or dismissal – which could make finding a new job even harder.’