(OPINION) More than 1 in 3 millennials in the workplace (35%) said “Secret Santa,” the holiday tradition of exchanging gifts at the office, should be banned because it causes anxiety, according to a recent study by a British online job board called Jobsite.
According to TheBlaze, Interestingly, 67% of millennials surveyed agreed office gift-giving is “good for morale,” but 27% said that their employers should foot the bill. “[O]ne in five (20%) workers believe that such events should not be celebrated at all in the workplace and 35% of millennials would even like to see them banned,” said the Jobsite report.
“A significant proportion of young workers feel like the business should shoulder the burden — rather than adding to the pressures of individual employees,” the report added. “Millennials in employment particularly agree, with 24% asking for dedicated company budgets to avoid chipping in.”
The report investigated how much and how often UK office workers are invited to ‘chip-in’ for an office celebration – ranging from birthdays and work anniversaries to engagements, promotions, and even seasonal events such as ‘Secret Santa’.
On average, we spend our own money on office occasions such as birthdays, engagements, and Secret Santa’s 15 times a year. Birthday celebrations take the largest slice of cake, with workers forking out an average of five times a year. Employees spend an average of £99 every year on gifts for our co-workers. A stunning £4,667 over the course of our careers.
Shockingly, Millennial workers see their contributions add to 34% more, with a total of £151 per year spent on 17 colleagues’ celebrations, which represents £7,111 over a career.
