It’s surely a piece of research that will divide the sexes – although females are working longer hours than their male colleagues, new research says they’re less productive. The research, from OfficeMetrics, looks at the working patterns in the UK and has revealed some stark differences between how men and women have responded to the global downturn. UK workers are spending on average 15 minutes longer at their desks per day compared to nine months ago – but the amount of time spent on work-based activities has actually reduced by three per cent. When looking at the gender divide the research reveals that females are making a bigger effort to show their commitment to work than men – spending an extra 18 minutes in the office compared to last November. But, as of July 2009, female workers were only 94 per cent as productive as their male counterparts, despite their longer working days.