The bah humbug award goes to..

Tech support is the highest ranking sector expected
to be working all over the Christmas festivities, according to a new survey.

A surge in late night buying
online, prompted online discount business MyVoucherCodes to look at the festive
working habits of Brits, and has found that the majority of IT workers are
expecting to work over Christmas, with half working or on standby on Christmas
day, more than any other profession.

The study of 1,410 workers also
found that IT workers work the least sociable hours of all Brits, with 4 in 5
saying they work after 7pm on at least three occasions throughout the week.

Journalists are amongst the
employees working the most unsociable hours in the build up to Christmas also,
with two in three saying they were expecting to be busy beyond 7pm in the
coming month.

Despite large numbers of
British workers expecting to work over the Christmas period, 23 percent said
they’d be doing so for the same wage they normally work for. 42 percent of IT
workers said they felt they were expected to work throughout Christmas rather
than given the option. 

Here is a list of the
professions that expect to be working on Christmas Day,

IT workers                              53 percent

Emergency service staff           51 percent

Journalists                              48 percent

Freight drivers                        46 percent

Petrol station attendants          41 percent

Restaurant staff                     38 percent

Pub staff                               36 percent

Care workers                        33 percent

Call centre workers                29 percent

Taxi drivers                           26 percent

Mark Pearson, founder of
MyVoucherCodes.co.uk had the following to say,

“IT workers are often the
unsung heroes of the workplace, putting in the hours before and after other
workers arrive and leave. “The majority of companies couldn’t operate without
the maintenance provided by in-house and agency IT workers, and the sad fact is
that many companies will also need them on standby throughout the festive period
to ensure that all runs smoothly.

“The good news is that in
terms of money saving voucher codes, we’ve never had more in the build up to
Christmas, so no matter what time you’re shopping, you can be sure to find
money off presents for friends and family. We have hundreds of tech and gadget
discount codes, including 10% off Precision Workstations at Dell, so even if
techies are working, they can still find some fantastic deals.”

18 December 2009