Too much swearing is putting bosses off with one in 10 admitting to sacking an employee for foul language.

A poll by TheLadders.co.uk, as reported in Online Recruitment, shows that almost half of employers would fire an employee for using bad language.

A foul mouth occupies the top and second place in a ranking of the worst habits and behaviours in an office environment, with 96% of senior managers saying a colleague who swore was "unacceptable to work alongside".

Lunchtime drinking, making excessive personal calls, poor personal hygiene issues and gossiping have also added to the demise of employees.

Interestingly, almost half of bosses also thought smoking breaks were 'not acceptable' whilst the use of iPods at work was not appropriate either.

"How people conduct themselves is of vital significance from a motivation and commitment angle," said ClickAJob chief executive Yngve Traberg.

"Swearing suggests impatience, or a lack of self-control, hardly qualities an employer would want from any staff member," he added.