Festive switch off
Festive switch off
The festive season is often the busiest period for businesses. Yet many workers tend to drop off in their productivity and switch off as they long for their holiday break.
This workforce slowdown can significantly impact companies, with reduced efficiency and output leading to a potential revenue loss. But which industries suffer from this festive switch-off the most?
The sales engagement experts here at Sopro have delved into government data and surveyed 2,000 workers across the UK to find out.
The most common December switch-off date
According to the survey of 2,000 UK workers, the most common switch-off date is the 17th of December. That means that productivity is down for five entire working days for many businesses in the lead-up to Christmas.
Almost a third of employees (28.7%) switch off the week before Christmas. However, close to a quarter (23.1%) admit to becoming less productive in the first half of December, meaning much more revenue could be lost for some firms.
Top December work-dodging habits
Avoiding big or complex tasks is the most common behaviour during the festive wind-down, with just under a third (31.1%) of workers admitting to doing so. This could be due to a lack of motivation in the run-up to Christmas, as employees may feel burned out from the busy working year and more focused on their Christmas plans.
Almost a third (29%) of employees admit to engaging in non-work-related activities during working hours, as well as nearly a fifth (18.6%) confessing to shopping online while on the clock. The increased number of people working from home likely contributes to this figure, with less supervision from management often enabling these habits to go undetected.
In addition, just under a quarter (22.5%) of workers say they take longer lunch breaks or finish early during the December wind-down, again contributing to a decrease in productivity during this period.
Millennials are the first generation to switch off ahead of Christmas
The survey revealed that millennials are the generation that switches off earliest in the lead-up to Christmas, averaging the 16th of December. Almost half (46.1%) of millennials switch off by engaging in non-work-related activities during work hours and are twice as likely to shelve work for the new year than Gen Z employees.
However, Gen Z is the second generation to switch off before Christmas, just one day later, on average, on the 17th of December. This is unsurprising given that half (50%) of Gen Z workers feel burnt out at work, according to research.1 This is also the generation that’s most likely to avoid significant or complex tasks in the run-up to Christmas, with nearly half (45.1%) admitting to this behaviour.
Gen X workers’ average switch-off date is the 18th of December. Over a third (33.9%) of workers aged 45-54 avoid big or complex tasks just before Christmas, compared to a quarter (25.3%) of Boomers.
The UK regions where workers switch off the earliest
Workers in the South West of England are the first to switch off out of the entire UK workforce, around the 15th of December. This means that businesses in this region could be missing out on revenue more than any other part of the country.
Central, South East, and Northern England, Northern Ireland, and Wales all follow, averaging between the 16-17th of December. Scotland has been revealed as the hardest-working UK region, with employees there switching off latest, on the 18th of December.
Potential revenue loss of the festive switch-off by industry
| Rank | Industry | Average December turnover | Estimated revenue per productive day | Potential lost revenue |
| 1 | Wholesale trade services, except for motor vehicles & motorcycles | £55.73B | £5.07B | £25.33B |
| 2 | Wholesale & retail trade & repair of motor vehicles & motorcycles | £11.12B | £1.01B | £5.06B |
| 3 | Computer programming, consultancy & related services | £7.30B | £664M | £3.32B |
| 4 | Food & beverage serving services | £5.41B | £491M | £2.46B |
| 5 | Telecommunications services | £4.94B | £449M | £2.25B |
| 6 | Management consulting services | £4.18B | £380M | £1.90B |
| 7 | Architectural & engineering services; technical testing and analysis services | £4.08B | £371M | £1.85B |
| 8 | Office administrative, office support and other business support services | £4.07B | £370M | £1.85B |
| 9 | Warehousing and support services for transportation | £3.85B | £350M | £1.75B |
| 10 | Employment services | £3.56B | £323M | £1.62B |
| 11 | Education services | £3.41B | £310M | £1.55B |
| 12 | Rail and land transport services & transport services via pipelines | £3.00B | £272M | £1.36B |
| 13 | Human health services | £2.91B | £265M | £1.32B |
| 14 | Advertising & market research services | £2.62B | £238M | £1.19B |
| 15 | Legal activities | £2.35B | £214M | £1.07B |
*Looking at the top 15 earning UK industries
Computer programming, consultancy and related services
Computer programming, consultancy, and related services offer specialised expertise in information technology. These can range from developing software and code to software maintenance, IT consultancy, website development and hosting, and cybersecurity.
Over the last 25 years, the average December revenue turnover for this industry in the UK is £7.3 billion. Given the average worker switch-off date of the 17th of December, this means that much of this turnover was likely generated in the 11 working days before that date. This means that if workers were productive up to the very last working day of December, the additional five productive days could result in firms in the sector generating an additional £3.32 billion in revenue.
If the festive switch-off was avoided, firms in the sector could use this lost revenue to scale up their investment in cybersecurity and other improvements to their services. This could contribute to increased customer confidence and ultimately drive business growth.
Telecommunications services
Telecommunications services include businesses that provide landline, broadband, mobile and satellite services. Our calculations show that this industry could be missing out on around £2.25 billion across the five days following the average worker switch-off date (December 17th).
If telecom businesses recouped this lost revenue by ensuring full productivity throughout December, they could use it to fund repairs and upgrades in their infrastructure. This would improve the quality of these networks, increase customer satisfaction, and help attract new customers.
Management Consulting services
Management consulting services help businesses improve their performance by providing strategic knowledge and direction, among other support services. With an average December revenue turnover of £4.18 billion over the last 25 years, the sector could potentially be losing out on £1.9 billion in revenue due to the festive switch-off.
If this revenue loss was avoided, companies in the sector could use the additional funds to enhance their service by hiring skilled experts with a range of expertise relevant to different industries and offering additional training to existing staff. This would make them better equipped to deal with client challenges and win new business, driving growth.
Employment services
The employment services industry covers various human resources activities, from recruitment and staffing to payroll and contract management. According to our research, the industry could be missing out on more than half (54%) of its £3.56 billion average December turnover due to decreased productivity in the lead-up to Christmas – equivalent to £1.62 billion.
If workers were at full productivity until their Christmas break, the boosted revenue could allow employment services businesses to invest in training, development, and new technologies. This could give them a competitive edge and the ability to better adapt to potentially challenging market shifts.
Advertising and Market Research services
Advertising and market research services allow companies to understand their target market better. This enables other businesses to make decisions based on this information to market their products or services more effectively.
The industry faces a potential revenue loss of £1.19 billion from the average worker switch-off date. This is just under half (45%) of the industry’s average December turnover of £2.62 billion.
If the industry reached its full revenue potential in December, this would give businesses additional cash flow. This cash flow could be used to fund bigger campaigns, broaden the scope and impact of business offerings, increase profitability, and generate more business.
Steve Harlow, Chief Sales Officer at Sopro, offers his advice on avoiding the ‘December dip’ and keeping leads warm into the new year:
“While the festive season is a time of celebration, it’s vital for businesses to maintain their productivity levels right up until the Christmas closure period to ensure they remain profitable and competitive. With many workers starting to switch off ahead of this date, it can be challenging for companies to generate enough new business leads, which can result in a slump in sales – commonly known in the industry as the ‘December dip’.
“Luckily, you can combat this dip by keeping the momentum going with your prospecting. Just because sales are slowing down doesn’t mean you should too. While some businesses may have gone over their budgets, others might want to spend their surplus before the year ends. This makes December the perfect time for upselling.
“Plenty of businesses also plan their strategies for the new year in December, so it could be the perfect opportunity to get on their radar. You could offer incentives like discounts or make your offer time-sensitive to encourage hesitant customers. Incentives will keep you in a customer’s mind, helping to keep leads warm into the new year.
“As the December dip often means fewer leads on the horizon, it’s wise to focus on the ones that are most likely to convert. Assess the quality of your leads and score them on their purchase intent and potential value to your business. This will help you prioritise leads and bolster sales to offset the festive slump.”
Methodology
We surveyed 2,000 people across the UK via TLF Panel. We asked respondents when they typically mentally switch off ahead of the festive break and what behaviours they partake in during this switch-off period.
Then, using the responses for each date range, we worked out the midpoint (i.e., for the 15th to the 21st, this would be the 18th). We disregarded the responses “I don’t usually switch off” and “Other” for this. We then multiplied the number of responses for each range by the midpoint (for the example above, multiply 575 by 18) to get our weighted sum. We then added together the total responses for each date range. Lastly, we divided our weighted sum by the total number of responses to get an average switch-off date of the 17th of December. We then replicated this process to get the average switch-off date for each region and generation.
We then used the “Monthly Business Survey turnover of services industries” from Short Term Outputs for Production and Services to get the average revenue turnover for each industry in December from 1998 to 2023. With the average switch-off date of the 17th, we established there are 11 working days before the switch-off and 5 days after it. We divided each industry’s average December revenue by the number of productive December days (11) to get the estimated average daily revenue. We then multiplied the estimated average daily revenue by the number of unproductive days in December (5) to calculate the estimated loss of revenue after the switch-off day of December 17th.
