Dec 17, 2012

Little festive generosity in Britain’s workplaces

Christmas may traditionally be a time for generosity but a recent survey into the sharing habits of UK employees has shown this is not the case in the country’s offices.

The poll, commissioned by YouGov on behalf of Vodafone, found 75% of the 1153 respondents do not feel more inclined to share with colleagues over the festive period.

The research discovered the more generous workers among us are most likely to share sweets with their co-workers. Some 46% said they were happy to do so.

Unsurprisingly, gossip was found to be the next most popular thing to share, with 45% of respondents saying they enjoyed contributing to the office rumour mill.

People are less generous with food and drink however. 31% said their lunch was one of the three things they were most unlikely to share, and 30% said the same of their coffee mug.

Corinne Sweet, a relationship psychologist and self-help author, said: “During tough economic times people are a bit more wary about sharing things of monetary value (food, wine), or sharing due to health implications (like mugs, earphones, even kisses), as they need to stay healthy to keep working. 

“The economic gloom and doom has dampened our generosity somewhat as a nation. However, increased prudence has also meant we are aware of sharing things which are precious and stretch resources more thoughtfully today.”

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