Employers are being urged to extend lunch hours during the Christmas period
in a bid to improve staff loyalty and retention in a tightening labour market.
A survey, by Amazon.co.uk, exclusive to Personnel Today, shows over half of
office employees take up to half an hour extra for their lunch breaks in
November and December to get their Christmas shopping done.
Only 12 per cent of employers award time off in the run up to Christmas.
Four out of 10 office staff take up to an hour extra at lunch time, with
only 6 per cent squeezing gift buying into their set break.
Almost a third of employees have said they were stuck in traffic or on a
tube to explain their extended lunch times.
A third of the 1,000 office staff polled admit they sneak out in the
afternoon or leave early from work to do Christmas shopping.
Eight out of 10 believe organisations should designate specific time for
Christmas shopping.
Business psychologist Marie Mosely said, "An additional hour to do
Christmas shopping is likely to be motivational and will help contribute to a
happier working environment, which ultimately impacts positively on the bottom
line."
