When was the last time you cleaned off your keyboard at work? How about scrubbing down your phone receiver? Can't even remember? Take heart: you're not alone.

A new study finds that most of our office desks are covered in all kinds of germs, from the mostly harmless everyday variety, to those that can cause colds, to those that can cause food poisoning.

The study was conducted for British office supply company Viking, which, perhaps not surprisingly, happens to sell a whole line of disinfectants, keyboard cleaners and hand sanitizers.

Viking asked hundreds of British office workers to send in swabs of their desks, phones and keyboards, when they then analyzed.

They found germs on almost two-thirds of the computer keyboards, as well as on phones and desk surfaces. The bacteria they discovered included bacillus cereus and E. coli, both of which can lead to food poisoning.

Who did the study find were the germiest workers?

Computer staff topped the list, followed by lawyers and accountants. Social workers were the most likely to have mouldy food lying somewhere in the darkest recesses of their desks.

While it's true that most bacteria on our desks are likely harmless, it's also true that our eating habits during the workday have changed over the years. Gone are the days of two-martini lunches at the local steak house, or hot turkey on rye at the local lunch counter.

These days, with our busy workdays, more of us are regularly eating at our desks. And in the rush to get things done, we're not cleaning up afterward the way we would at home.

Couple that with the increased trend towards shared work stations, and the possibility that our out-to-lunch cleaning habits risk spreading foodborne illnesses.

A survey that came out over the summer found that the majority of us are eating lunch at our desks on a regular basis.

The survey, conducted for the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods' Home Food Safety program, found that 62 per cent of Americans eat lunch at their desks, while 50 per cent snack throughout the day at their desks.

At the same time, only about half of all Americans said they always washed their hands before sinking into our brown bagged lunch.

That's despite recommendations from food safety experts to wash your hands with soap and warm water before and after handling food.

What's the state of your workspace? If you'd like to showcase yours in an online gallery, send photos of your desk to newsonline (at) ctv.ca. Then, leave your tips or tricks for staying neat (or not) in the comments below.