Leisure sector workers are the UK’s most likely to keep their personal and professional online lives separate.

That’s according to new research into the blurring lines of personal and professional social media use, which found leisure employees are least likely to want to use their personal accounts to promote their company, and least likely to accept work colleagues on Facebook.

Around 45 per cent of leisure employees said that they wouldn’t accept their manager as a ‘friend’ on Facebook, 10 per cent more than the national average. Meanwhile, 16 per cent leisure employees say they have read their company’s social media policy, but don’t follow it – compared to just nine per cent across the national average.

The findings from online reputation management company Igniyte follow a number of high-profile cases where employees have posted ill-judged content from their personal social media account – thrusting their employer into the spotlight in the process.

Overall, the study – carried out in October 2015 with 1,000 UK employees across varying sectors – identified several eye-opening patterns around the modern employee’s social media use.

Nearly one in five employees don’t even know if their company has a social media policy, while only a quarter said they would think carefully before posting content or pictures on social media about how it could affect theirs or someone else’s professional reputation. A total of 28 per cent of UK employees say they are happy to accept any work colleague as a ‘friend’ on Facebook.

The findings of the research have been used to compile a free online guide to Protecting Your Company From Employee Risk, which is available here.