But what about the 66% of UK employees that must spend time away from their families, working over the season of goodwill?
A survey carried out by Cotton Traders unveiled the nation’s feelings on putting shifts in over Christmas, and identified that one in three of us will have to work on the big day itself.
For some, the thought of having to make do with a microwaved Christmas dinner – or, worse still, dry turkey sandwiches – is too much to bear. 19.7% of respondents admitted to having called in sick to avoid missing the festive celebrations, whilst 18.3% actually quit their jobs!
25-34 year-olds proved to be the biggest culprits when it came to pulling a festive sickie: 30.2% admitted to doing this, whilst 35-44 year-olds came second, with 23.7%. Surprisingly, 18-24 year-olds, who are often stereotyped as having a poorer work ethic than their older counterparts, came in third with 22.2%.
Good Samaritans
It’s not all doom and gloom for festive workers, however, with many employees getting behind the real spirit of Christmas and going the extra mile for their colleagues.
38.8% of the population have played Good Samaritan before, and swapped a shift to allow a colleague with a young family to spend some precious time with their children.
Those working in HR/Recruitment were identified as the biggest saints, with a healthy 84% having carried out this kind deed.
At the other end of the scale, people working within the Marketing/PR industry were revealed to be the biggest Scrooges: a paltry 20% had swapped shifts with their colleagues!
Are you working over the Christmas period, or do you know a colleague, family member or friend who has pulled the short straw rather than a Christmas cracker this year? Or, are you in a position to swap shifts to allow a co-worker to spend time with their kids? Perhaps you could consider carrying out a good deed – you know what they say: what goes around, comes around!