Just why are we so locked in to a nine-to-five hour working culture in this country?

Recent research carried out for High Street chemists Boots reveals that staff may only be fully awake for three quarters of an hour an day!

Staff may effectively 'lose' more than two hours a day due to tiredness, the reasearch reveals, and may only be working to their optimum levels for five hours a day.

The study confirmed what we all know, that employees often fall into a 'slump' at around 2pm, after their lunch break, lasting one hour and 14 minutes. So not a great time to schedule training then!

Commenting on the research, Boots pharmacist Angela Chalmers said that diet and lifestyle changes can play a part in helping to address this problem: "Our modern day lifestyle often means we can find it tough to stay alert during the nine to five and we have become a nation of slumpers as a result," she said. "It's hard to maintain energy levels when you're stressed out at the office."

ClickAJob chief executive Yngve Traberg added: "Both employees and employers owe it to themselves to find out where their motivation is and how to use it. Fix the attitude and very often you fix energy problems too."

What does this research mean for the training community? We're looking for more writers to comment on recent news on TrainingZone, so please get in touch if you've got something to say. Email me at editor@trainingzone.co.uk