A staggering 40 days every year are wasted by the average person, according to a new survey.

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) revealed the findings as part of a campaign to counteract the perception that people don’t have time to learn.

A total of 1,658 people were quizzed as part of the survey, which found that 80% admitted to some form of time wasting every day. Around half claimed to waste two to three hours a day.

When it came to identifying the main causes of wasted time, the survey found that 42% of people blamed having to wait around for other people; other offenders included queuing, clearing up after others and having to hold on the phone.

Chris Banks, chairman of the LSC, said: “It’s clear that people waste a lot of time, but it’s also clear that people are willing to make better use of their time. If we all spent two and a half hours a day learning something new, we’d all benefit hugely.

“Modern learning comes in all shapes and sizes, and with flexible courses on offer there is something out there for everyone. There are also various funding options available to help you get on your way.”

HRZone.co.uk reported that workers waste an average five years getting to and from work whilst half of bosses have had to discipline staff for time wasting on social networking sites. HR professionals may just buck the time-wasting trend if the the Happiness at Work Index is to be believed; released this week by recruitment outfit Badenoch & Clark it reports that one in four HR workers complain rising workloads amount to the equivalent of an extra day’s work per week.