When asked where you’d like to spend this Christmas, ‘at the office’ isn’t likely to be high on your list, but 33% people will be at their workplace over the winter holidays, according to an online survey by reed.co.uk. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, where consumers expect top-notch service on demand, there’s a rising pressure for offices to remain open between Christmas and New Year. In short, more workers will be eating their turkey dinner at their desks.
As technology offers us the freedom to choose where and when we work, increasingly our work responsibilities are creeping into our personal lives. If you’re lucky enough to be at home this Christmas, you still might not be enjoying a well-earned break. Ten per cent of workers plan to work from home, with 56% of those polled overall likely to be checking their business emails. With advances in new technology, juggling work and family priorities during the Christmas period is becoming increasingly common.
Interestingly, spending the holidays at work isn’t likely to have a negative impact on our productivity levels. The majority of those working over Christmas expect to be as productive as during a normal working week, while an impressive 29% expect to be more productive, perhaps taking advantage of emptier email boxes and quieter phones.
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Christmas may traditionally be a time for family but this time is no longer sacred. As employers look to use up their headcount for the year, new job opportunities tend to rise in the approach to the holidays, and 77% of jobseekers are willing to work on Christmas day if it secures them a new job. If opportunity knocks, most are willing to take it – even if it knocks on Christmas.
This change of attitudes towards working over Christmas has encouraged a new breed of jobseeker, one which not only remains proactive during the Christmas period, but employs a tech-based approach to jobseeking in order to take full advantage of the influx of opportunities.
reed.co.uk Marketing Director Mark Rhodes said: “Most of us would probably rather switch off and enjoy some well-earned rest at Christmas, but our survey highlights the extent to which technology enables us and even obliges us to keep in touch with our work.
“For jobseekers willing to go the extra distance, Christmas is a great opportunity to take some time to focus on your job search, tidy up your CV and polish your interview skills before the January rush.”
