The festive season is apparently being soured for many UK workers, who feel their employers are ruining Christmas. A new study reveals that the majority of UK professionals aren’t given time off at Christmas, despite believing businesses should shut down entirely. A weighty 83.9 percent of respondents in the survey conducted by CV-Library believe companies should make a bigger effort to embrace the Christmas spirit.
The survey found that 40 percent of UK businesses only close for the bare minimum of two bank holidays over Christmas, however 63.9 percent of workers think businesses should shut down for a longer period. Surprisingly over a quarter of employees 26.1 percent are not allowed to take time off at all over Christmas, meaning 38.9 percent of workers are forced to use their holiday allowance toward additional Christmas leave.
Despite wanting more time off over the Christmas period, workers do also understand that not all businesses can shut down.
“It’s not realistic for every business to close their doors over the Christmas period, but there are plenty of other ways businesses can offer a bit of festive cheer to their employees this year,” comments Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library. “Allow employees the freedom to decorate their working space, invest in a few advent calendars for each team or organise a Secret Santa amongst workers.”
Luckily for workers, 37.2 percent of UK businesses are already engaging its employees with ‘Secret Santa’ during Christmas. And 82.5 percent of professionals believe that it is a fun activity when everything goes smoothly; however they do admit to a few challenges posed by hosting an office Secret Santa.
“Adding some festive fun to the office is a great way to improve spirits and keep productivity levels up, especially if staff would rather be home with family than in the office. Just make sure no one is forced to participate and there are reasonable controls in place to keep things professional,” concludes Biggins.
Robert joined the HRreview editorial team in October 2015. After graduating from the University of Salford in 2009 with a BA in Politics, Robert has spent several years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past he has been part of editorial teams at Flux Magazine, Mondo*Arc Magazine and The Marine Professional.
