The Christmas season is not a joyful time in the workplace as 1 in 7 British workers will argue with colleagues over the Christmas shift pattern, according to retail experts Cotton Traders.

Almost half of Britain will be working over the festive period, with a huge 55% of workers having no say in the matter. Out of the lucky few who were lucky enough not to be asked to work Christmas, a quarter will sacrifice their own time off to allow those with younger families to celebrate the festive period together.

Those who will be working over Christmas considered being away from their families and friends (48%), not being able to relax (46%) and seeing other people enjoying themselves (38%) as the biggest downfalls of having to work over the festive period.

The HR industry is no different with their attitudes towards working over the ~Christmas period 3 in 4 of those working in the HR industry will be working Christmas Eve, and those who are off will be constantly checking their emails (38%).

With this is mind Cotton Traders have put together a ‘Making Christmas warmer’ guide, where employers can find top tips on how to make working over Christmas a festive and cheerful experience for their employees.

In addition to the guide Cotton Traders want to spread a little extra festive cheer to those working over the festive period, by launching a Facebook campaign ‘Making Christmas Warmer’ where users can nominate a friend working over festive period to win one of their fantastic festive hampers to help them through the hustle of Christmas work!