A new study has highlighted the impact that Britain's 'all work and no play' culture could be having on employees' personal lives.

Health cash plan provider Medicash conducted a survey of more than 1,000 working parents and found that more than four out of five (83 per cent) felt guilty about the amount of time they dedicated to their jobs.

Half (50 per cent) of respondents said their work commitments had limited the amount of time they could spend with their children and 46 per cent had experienced problems in their relationship with their partner.

A quarter (25 per cent) of workers have neglected friends because of their career responsibilities, according to the research.

Focusing on how demanding jobs can impact family life, the study found that 50 per cent of working mums and dads had missed a child's sports day, school play or parents' evening and 43 per cent had worked through holidays.

The majority (59 per cent) of people polled admitted that their children had complained about the amount of time they devoted to work.

Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University and director of employee wellbeing firm Robertson Cooper, said: "The fact that many people feel guilty about how they spend their time is hugely significant – it shows how important it is to maintain work-life balance.

"The evidence shows that flexible working delivers to the business' bottom line, with employees feeling less guilty about how they spend their time and achieving a better balance between work and home commitments."

He went on to highlight the growing problem of employees turning up to work ill, which could have negative knock-on effects for organisations trying to improveabsence management.

A recent survey by insurance provider Canada Life found that 93 per cent of people had gone to work despite feeling unwell.