Why dunking a biscuit in your tea is a huge faux-pas

A McVitie's study of 2000 employees has revealed office workers' biggest biscuit offences. Photo / 123RF

Tens of thousands of workers across the country enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit at their desks but now a study has revealed you should never dunk at the office if you want to keep your colleagues on side.

Dunking at your desk is considered a major faux-pas by a fifth of British tea drinking office workers, according to a new survey of 2000 employees by McVitie's, the Daily Mail reports.

That's in spite of a whopping 71 per cent admitting they love to soak their biscuit in a cuppa.

So have you been committing this major office sin?

The study also showed that other deplorable biscuit offences include opening a packet of biscuits that didn't belong to them, reports Cosmopolitan.com.

Leaving a trail of crumbs on someone's desk was also considered to be an abomination, with 38 per cent calling this a major faux-pas.

Biscuits don't always divide colleagues however, according to another study.

A previous survey by McVitie's found that half of British workers say sharing the sweet treats with colleagues makes them feel happier, with more than a quarter saying they even helped forge stronger relationships.

Ten per cent of office workers say that sharing biscuits even helped them bag a romantic date with one of their colleagues.

According to the research, people in social care are the biggest biscuit sharers at work, followed by accountants and teachers.

However, some workforces love their biscuits so much, they just can't bear to share them, with more than a third of British workers confessing to going to great lengths to keeping them all for themselves.

More than a quarter of construction workers have eaten biscuits in their car so colleagues wouldn't see, while 17 per cent of IT workers confess to eating biscuits on the sly.

And a fifth of those working in hospitality and entertainment admit to hiding away their treats in the company toilet so they can enjoy their favourite biscuits in secret.

Judi James, communication and body language expert, told FEMAIL: "We live in a digital world where we're more connected than ever, with a growing number of 'digital friends', but it's those moments of real human connection that are increasingly important and help to support our own physical and emotional health.

"The simple act of sharing biscuits with friends or colleagues can facilitate those little moments of face-to-face connection that can have a significant impact on your work and social life."