If your colleagues are taking a little longer than usual in the loo at work, don't worry. They're probably just taking a little break. 

A survey carried out to mark Gut Week, which runs until September 6th, found that almost two-fifths of employees (38 per cent) admit to using toilet time as a break from work with males (43 per cent) more likely to use this tactic than their female counterparts (32 per cent).

Younger age groups are more likely to skive off in the toilet too; 18-24 (69 per cent), 25-34 (49 per cent), 35-44 (38 per cent), 45-54 (30 per cent) and 55+ (18 per cent).

One in three Irish adults admit to checking their emails (33 per cent) or Facebook (30 per cent) while on the loo. Other activities include making phone calls (19 per cent), checking Twitter (12 per cent) and playing Candy Crush (11 per cent). Looking at this by age, under 35s are the most likely to be found on their phone while using the loo compared to the over 35s. While those who spend less time on the toilet each day are less likely to do any of the above activities – this may explain what those (38 per cent) who spend over 10 minutes on the toilet each day are really up to!

It's not a likely topic for conversation however, as we consider toilet talk the most taboo subject for discussion, ahead of sex (41 per cent), illness (21 per cent), religion (18 per cent) and politics (14 per cent).

When Irish people were asked what reason they would give if they needed to call in sick to work  due to bowel problems, almost half (47 per cent) said they would give food poisoning/vomiting as an excuse. While less than 1 in 4 (23 per cent) would admit to having bowel problems.

This year’s Gut Week, running from 31^st August – 6^th September, aims to break the ‘Poo Taboo’ and end the embarrassment often associated with some of Ireland’s most common conditions.

Seven out of 10 Irish adults have suffered from a chronic or persistent gut health problem, the most common being constipation (37 per cent), diarrhoea (34 per cent) and indigestion (32 per cent).

More information about the LOVE YOUR GUT Campaign can be found at www.gutweek.ie and Twitter on #loveyourgut