Did you feel a bit stressed this morning? Research finds 10am on a Tuesday is the 'stress peak' of the week

If you thought you’d got through the worst day of the working week already, then prepare yourself.

The most stressful time in the office isn’t on Monday, researchers say. For half of employees, it’s actually today – at 10am.

Half of British employees pin-pointed mid-morning on Tuesday as their 'stress peak' - when their workload becomes 'too much' and they start to crumble under the pressure.

Stressed out: Tuesday mornings at 10am have been found to be the most stressful point of the week for half of all employees

The majority of workers said they coast through Monday getting their brain in gear and catch up with gossip from the weekend and discussing TV shows they've watched.

But on Tuesday reality sets in and staff spend the very first part of the day going through emails they ignored on Monday before planning the week ahead.

And they're faced with a mountain of a to-do list to tackle and struggle with their boss' demands or impending deadlines.

A spokesman for Michael Page recruitment agency, which carried out the research, said: ‘Whether we feel over-worked, are neck deep in paper or just battling a to-do list which seems never-ending, we are all in agreement when we hit our melting point.

'It's worrying such a large number of us are under so much pressure from bosses and there not being enough hours in the day that we go home and have an alcoholic drink to recover.

'But it is encouraging to see we are taking steps to improve our working lives, with people making it a New Year's resolution to get out of their current job.'

The study of office workers aged between 18 and 45 quizzed respondents on their level of stress throughout the typical working week.

It found a quarter regularly feel stressed at work and for three quarters of workers they regularly come to the end of their tether by 11.16am each day.

But one in five find it gets too much before nine o'clock.

Four in ten blamed heavy workloads and a third said dealing with difficult clients or customers left them feeling frazzled.

Yet three in ten admitted it was their boss which caused them tension in the office and one in six blamed their colleagues for not listening to their cries for help.

The study found those in marketing, sales and local government get worked up more than anyone else and one in ten workers will look for a new job this year.

A spokesman added: "Coming into work on a Tuesday and seeing an inbox full of emails and the mountain of work you face isn't fun, so it's no surprise it takes just an hour for stress levels to shoot right up.

'But feeling stressed at work not only affects your professional life but also on your home life and the people around you, so it's important not to be afraid and look elsewhere.

'It's no coincidence that 10am Tuesday is also when traffic to our website peaks.'