Chair today, gone tomorrow

Most office workers would quit their jobs tomorrow if possible - but only if they could take their chair with them.

Many are so worried about terrorism and money problems that they yearn for a simple life in the country.

But while they would not miss the stress and the crowded city, they would be reluctant to let go of their comfortable chair.

A survey of 1,000 office staff found many were more attached to their seats than to their other halves.

While the average relationship lasted 3.5 years, employees normally kept their office chair for five years.

Forty per cent said they had more than two relationships in the time they had sat in the same seat, while 20 per cent claimed their chair had outlasted a marriage.

If someone else hid or took their chair, it was almost as bad as stealing away a lover.

Katy Rogers, of office equipment supplier Staples, which carried out the study, said: 'People become attached to their chair in a way they never do to their desk. When the office reshuffle happens, they take their stapler, photo of their loved one and their own chair with them.'

Meanwhile, a separate study found that fewer than one in ten workers in the City wanted to stay in their current jobs, with 60 per cent saying they would leave within 24 hours given a choice.

Recruitment agency Chiumento said: 'The situation is even worse than we anticipated. City workers want out.'