Secret Santa: Is it harmless fun or a stressful burden?

santa-clausTo most it is harmless fun and just an annual office tradition but many UK workers Secret Santa has turned into a festive burden, with media workers in the top three professions who find the tradition ‘very stressful’.

According to a study of 1,000 UK employees, commissioned by corporate rewards and incentives specialists Appreciate, home of Love2shop, over a quarter (27%) of workers find Secret Santa a waste of time and money.

Teachers are the most stressed by it, with over a third (36%) resenting the practice, followed by IT, legal and media professionals (1 in 4).

Overall, only a quarter of workers actually enjoy the tradition, despite thousands of offices up and down the country embracing the festive practice over the coming weeks.

While more women (31%) than men (17%) do get into the spirit, more female workers get stressed (21%) over what to buy for their Secret Santa recipient compared to male workers (12%).

Workers in London (25%) are the most stressed regionally by Secret Santa, followed by the North West (21%) and Scottish workers (19%).

The poll also found that the items gifted in the tradition of Secret Santa are rarely something any recipients enjoy, with one in four confessing they don’t in fact use the item once opened and 1 in 5 would simply prefer a gift card.

The study comes as part of Love2shop’s ‘End Gift-typing’ campaign to stamp out lazy, predictable and wasteful gifting.

The gift card and voucher brand saw an unprecedented 42% spike in sales during the pandemic, and is on a mission to get UK consumers giving the gift of choice this Christmas.

A major poll among 10,000 Appreciate Business Services customers found that three quarters of UK employees (76%) said they preferred a gift card or voucher as a corporate gift.

It makes solid financial sense too, apparently, HMRC’s Trivial Benefit allowance enables organisations to give employees up to £50 in gift vouchers tax-free.

Appreciate Business Services director of business development Frank Creighton said: “Far from being festive party-poopers here at Love2shop, we want UK workers to really love the gifts they get from colleagues. Our poll has revealed Secret Santa can not only be really stressful and yet another task on a long to-do list, but the gifts are often not even enjoyed or appreciated.

“We’re not saying sack Secret Santa but perhaps simply give the gift of choice with a Love2shop gift card. With over 150 brands and countless experiences to pick from even Santa will approve.”

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