READY for the weekend? Be warned: so are bosses, after a survey revealed that millions of Britons start the weekend early at 3 13pm on a Friday afternoon.

Not much work is done after that time in offices nationwide, apparently, as women look for fashions online and blokes check out what pubs to go to. Eighty per cent admitted the last two hours of the afternoon, when they are supposed to be working, is the time they spend getting in touch with mates through Facebook.

And 40% even arrange fictitious meetings for late in the afternoon so they can get away early.

Richard Dyer of the what's on website skiddle.com said: “By the time Friday afternoon comes around, we start to switch off.”

Well, we do if we can get away with it. But perhaps it will be more difficult in the future.

Now this information has been shared with the world, managers and directors will know all about the ducking and diving that goes on, and could be ready to catch you out.

Skiving could become hard work, for that is what it is.

The term has been around since the First World War when it was used to describe soldiers who evaded their duty and responsibilities by skiving off. It is supposed to come from the French word esquiver, meaning to dodge or slink away.

This is a little unfortunate for the good people who live in Skive, a town in Denmark, who are undoubtedly both hard working and fun loving without the need to dodge work

They even hold the Skive Festival, but don't get the wrong idea. This is not for work-shy folk from around Europe who have come up with the best excuse to leave early on a Friday. It is in fact a rock festival.

Mind you, what a wonderful excuse to give the boss: “I'm going to Skive,” you could say, with perfect honesty, and nip off to Scandinavia for a weekend of music. But only in June because that's when it's held.

The rest of the year, skivers might consider a different and rather radical approach: why not actually do some work?