Office workers need to have very deep pockets to keep up with workplace costs each year, research has revealed.

The annual expense of teas and coffees, socialising and chipping in to whip-rounds for colleagues has been calculated at just over £1,000.

That equals around £40,000 over the course of a 40-year working life, or around two years' salary after tax for the average UK worker.

The cost does not include daily lunches or travel to work, so the full price of office work would be even higher if these were also taken into account.

Nationwide Current Accounts commissioned a survey of 2,000 office workers across the UK to make the findings.

The survey found that while men generally tend to be unhappier than women about spending money at work, women are more likely to feel pressured into shelling out for work-related items.

For example, two-fifths (42 per cent) of men were unhappy about spending money at work Christmas parties, compared with just over a third (34 per cent) of women.

But 20 per cent of women said they felt under pressure to spend money at Christmas parties, compared with just 12 per cent of men.

Overall, more than a quarter of people surveyed said they felt pressured when it came to contributing cash towards birthday and leaving gifts, with 28 per cent feeling this way about birthday presents and 27 per cent of people saying this about gifts for colleagues who were leaving.

Nearly a third (32 per cent) said they felt pressured into contributing money to help their colleagues' charity fundraising efforts.

Here is how the annual average cost of working in an office adds up:

  • Clothes and bags, £119.16
  • Drinks and nights out with colleagues, £102.24
  • Christmas parties and dinners, £96.48
  • Birthday cards and presents for colleagues, £66.60
  • Coffees and teas, £66.36
  • Sweets and treats, £64.32
  • Technology (such as a tablet, phone, calculator), £58.32
  • Leaving presents and cards for colleagues, £50.28
  • Comfort items (such as tissues, tablets, anti-bacterial wipes and sprays) £49.68
  • Colleagues' weddings, £47.04
  • Charity/sponsorship requests, £44.64
  • Births of colleagues' children, £43.92
  • Secret Santa, £41.88
  • Stationery, £41.04
  • Other equipment (such as pens and highlighters), £38.04
  • Retirements, £39.24
  • Bereavements, £33.96
  • Total, £1,003.20

Do you resent having to fork out so much money at work? Does your office have any schemes in place that help keeps these costs down? Add your comments below.