Christmas Is Cancelled!

Employment lawyer firm Peninsula ,in a recent piece of research has found that 83% of employers will not shell out on a Christmas party as staff want to save money due to the downturn, while 74% could not see the benefit of a Christmas party and 66% of employers had received harassment claims from workers following their Christmas party.

Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula, said: “The economic downturn has forced a lot of companies to cull their Christmas celebrations. With the economic conditions the way they are, firms just cannot warrant spending money on a Christmas party. These events represent a considerable cost to any firm, whether they employ five people or 50, and many employers consider this another process in tightening their belt and making their company more cost efficient. Firms who have been forced to make people redundant may also consider spending money on a Christmas party inappropriate, as well as detrimental to the streamlining plan they are implementing in their business.”

More Christmas Cheer

As the Christmas Slow Down well and truly hits us, a survey by fish4jobs reveals that the number of jokes played within the office reaches a high.

Over 74% of office staff admit to playing practical jokes on one another, 16% of which are played by management, still a little bit tipsy after too much Babycham at the Christmas party.

The most common type of prank, involves playing around on the phone, normally started by some joker on the sales team.

It is not uncommon for the IT boys and girls to play the odd little gag, like turning the server off..

Whilst it is the season to be jolly and even the management believe it is good for team building and morale, there is no chance of hitting Christmas deadlines... unless your Santa of course..

Bah Humbug!

According to research by HR experts Croner, two-thirds of workers prefer to be anywhere but the Christmas work party.

The YouGov survey of 1209 British workers found that 43% of respondents said that work Christmas parties are okay but they would rather be somewhere else. While 20% said that they are awful and they would do anything to avoid them and, if they do go, they can’t wait to leave.
This means a total of 63% are against the festive gatherings.Interestingly 41% of who think Christmas parties are awful, preferring not to socialise with colleagues outside of work anyway.

In addition to this 12 % of respondents have had bad experiences at Christmas work parties in the past. With findings also suggesting that smaller gatherings may be preferred over big company bashes. When asked what type of Christmas celebration/party employers should offer, just under a third (32%) said an organised company Christmas party.

Jo Pitts, employment advisor at Croner, says: "Employers have been stressing out over the last few years about the dangers of holding a Christmas party, but what the survey has highlighted is the fact that few employees these days enjoy them....We would suggest that employers, where possible, liaise with their employees to find out what their preference would be and then look at what options are available which meet the needs and resources of the business,”