If you are eating your lunch while reading this, you could be setting your colleague's teeth on edge.

According to new research munching lunch loudly at the desk is second only to chuckling at the boss's poor jokes as the most annoying habits of UK office workers.

The poll, conducted by insurance broker Quoteline Direct, also revealed:
- 71% thought they deserved a substantial pay rise.
- 52% thought their boss was overpaid.
- 81% scan the job pages in newspapers to compare salaries.
- Only 11% of people socialise out of work with their colleagues

Paul O Gorman, director at Quoteline Direct said: "Hit TV shows like The Office and fly-on-the-wall docusoaps have highlighted workplace behaviour more closely than ever before. It's clear that office workers feel they deserve more recognition in the workplace and that seemingly trivial behaviours can cause pent up frustration."

Other bad habits reported to Quoteline Direct were not re-stocking the fax paper, talking too loudly on the phone, repeating 'what happened at the weekend' stories and slurping hot drinks too loudly.