LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire -01/13/12)- The hang-over from too much festive fun is set to wear a big hole in the pockets of Britain's bosses. It's predicted that a drop in productivity and staff absences following the annual Christmas bash could cost a shocking GBP 888 on average per company. It is expected that nearly 70 per cent of Britain's workforce will spend a minimum of three and half hours recovering from a night on the tiles. The hidden cost of 'the morning after' has been revealed in a survey released today by budget hotel company, Travelodge.
The hotel chain's report saw 6,000 British workers quizzed regarding their Christmas work party and the key findings revealed that the traditional expenses-paid Christmas office party is in danger of dying out. Belt tightening is high on the agenda this season, with just 23 per cent of employers rewarding their workforce with an end of year thank you party, compared to this time last year, when a generous 38 per cent of directors paid for a Christmas party for their staff.
This year, 47 per cent of employees will be paying for their annual Christmas work do. The average cost of the night out will be GBP 49.79 per event. Seven out of ten Britons will have at least two work related Christmas do's this year. One evening will be spent with their initial team and line manager and the other night out will be with friends or suppliers from work. Over a third (34%) of workers will also attend their partner's Christmas work night out.
The festive season can be anything but restful, with over a third of British workers surveyed stating they get the least sleep in December due to excessive partying, working late and getting ready for Christmas. On average party-loving workers will survive on just five hours sleep per night in the two weeks leading up to Christmas - three hours less than the recommend sleep quota of eight hours.
And thrifty Brits are ensuring they are maximising their spending on their favourite, festive bash by carefully planning ahead and booking budget hotels, avoiding the worry of finding an elusive - and expensive - late night cab, and leaving them with money to splurge on wining and dining.
Travelodge spokeswoman Shakila Ahmed said, 'Although the all-expenses-paid Christmas office party is becoming a yuletide tradition of the past, due to company austerity costs, our research has highlighted the fact that the office Christmas do remains a popular long-standing British institution. Our findings have also shown that this is one tradition that workers will not allow to die out, even though it means they are forking out for it themselves.
'Interestingly, this year we have seen a significant rise in bookings at our Travelodge city centre hotels for this period. Workers across the UK have been planning their big festive work's night out well ahead and many have opted to book a saver room and stay over in a Travelodge hotel rather than getting an expensive cab home.'
Notes to editor:
The poll was conducted by Travelodge in December 2011 with 6,000 British workers
The GBP 888 million figure calculation has been worked out via the following formula:
Total number of British workers is 29,070,000 million workers
70% of workers are having at least two Christmas work nights out = 70% of 29,070,000 is 20,300,000
Three and half hours is wasted in the workplace due to nursing a hangover. The average hourly salary is GBP 12.50. This equates to GBP 43.75
20,300,000 workers x GBP 43.75 = GBP 888,125,000
Travelodge
Shakila Ahmed
M: 0802 702 499
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