If you’re running a business, you might as well shut up shop for the holidays now. Even though more than half your employees may still be on the job, they’re not putting their hearts into it.
“Christmas seems to be starting earlier every year,” Dan Rogers, co-founder of Peakon, a Danish startup that collects and measures data on employees, tells Bloomberg.
There’s probably plenty of anecdotal evidence at your own workplace pointing to a productivity hit during the holidays, but there’s also some data showing as much. A survey by Peakon found that 54% of British workers mentally check out for the holidays by today.
At the younger end of the workforce, the great Christmas check out comes sooner. Already today, six in 10 millennial workers have switched off, compared with just 40% of baby boomers, the survey of 3,000 workers found. It takes until Dec. 20 for the lion’s share of older workers to give into holiday distractions.
“It’s extremely hard to concentrate on tasks when you’re excited about meeting up with loved ones, socializing and being merry,” says Lorraine Black, 28, an internal auditor based in New York for an insurance and investment company.
She’s not putting things off on purpose, but she knows she’s less productive. “Realistic managers aren’t in denial,” she says. “It’s not the ideal situation for them but one that they experience and have to accept nonetheless.”
In the run-up to Christmas, it can seem like just about everyone’s sneaking onto Amazon or trying to find the perfect gift. And for working parents, school holidays can also be a blunt on productivity.
