The Christmas season is not a joyful time in the workplace as 1 in 7 British workers will argue with colleagues over the Christmas shift pattern, according to Cotton Traders.
Almost half of Britain will be working a Christmas shift, with a huge 55 per cent of workers having no say in the matter. Out of the lucky few who were not to be asked to work Christmas, a quarter will sacrifice their own time off to allow those with younger families to celebrate the festive period together.
Out of those who will be off over Christmas, 38 per cent will be checking their emails whilst off. Nearly all (88 per cent) of HR/Recruiters say that the worst part of working at Christmas is not being able to relax, whether at work or not. Less than two thirds (63 per cent) of general workers say working over the festive period affects their ability to relax.
Those who will be working over Christmas considered being away from their families and friends (48 per cent), not being able to relax (46 per cent) and seeing other people enjoying themselves (38 per cent) as the biggest downfalls of having to work over the festive period.
1 in 4 British workers have sacrificed their own time off by swapping shifts so colleagues with young families can spend the time with their loved ones over Christmas.
The HR industry is no different with their attitudes towards working over the ~Christmas period 3 in 4 of those working in the HR industry will be working Christmas Eve, and those who are off will be constantly checking their emails (38 per cent).
With this is mind Cotton Traders have put together a ‘Making Christmas warmer’ guide , where employers can find top tips on how to make working over Christmas a festive and cheerful experience for their employees.
In addition to the guide Cotton Traders want to spread a little extra festive cheer to those working over the festive period, by launching a Facebook campaign ‘Making Christmas Warmer’ where users can nominate a friend working over festive period to win one of their fantastic festive hampers to help them through the hustle of Christmas work!
Further reading on preparing for Christmas
