IT managers see Christmas as a chore that has no place at
work, according to a survey of 467 IT directors by the Chartered
Management Institute.
Many IT directors think that office parties are hard work,
disruptive and dull and reject traditional ways of marking the
season's celebrations with colleagues.
Less than half of those questioned had an office party, which is
below the national average of 61%. One in 10 suggested the reason
is a lack of enthusiasm, another 35% said Christmas celebrations at
work are a chore and less than half actually enjoy work
festivities.
Up to 41% complained that seasonal activities created problems of
availability as colleagues or clients were inaccessible. A further
41% said the Christmas season is disruptive, only 17% wanted to
entertain key business contacts and few believed the festivities
boosted morale.
A mere 3% said they give gifts to colleagues. Secret Santa will
also be climbing down fewer IT office chimneys this year, with only
two IT managers out of 10 running mystery gift schemes.
But the results showed that although cynicism towards festivities
in the workplace is prevalent among IT managers, they choose not to
reject Christmas completely.
Up to 74% see the festive period as a time to re-charge their
batteries and 44% said it was a chance to see friends and
family.
Bruce Reed, IT director at Alliance-Unichem, said he would rather
enjoy the festivities with friends and family than colleagues.
"I enjoy Christmas not for Christmas itself but for how many days
off in a row I can have without using lots of holiday," he said.