If you are working over the festive period, what do you do?

[No17CherryTreeLane]

This is my first year of not working over the holidays due to taking early retirement as a band 8 nurse.
I want to take this opportunity to thank anyone working tonight and tomorrow! 💐 🍫 🍷

Working up until today and back in on the 30th. I work in a pharmaceutical company (microbiology lab) team members are on shift throughout the week as usual. We make biologics for rare conditions so they are in extremely high demand.

I'm a HCA at the local hospital, working night shift tonight. I worked last night too but once tonight is done I'm off on AL until 6th January. Can't wait tbh, I enjoy my job but it's been so busy the last few weeks.

Church musician! Finishing work around 1130 tomorrow morning. It's been exhausting this year juggling it with a 1 and 3yr old!

I'm off but DH is on call as a vet. Will be called in if any emergency surgery needed.

Thank you to everyone working Christmas & New Year!!

I delivered DS on Christmas Day 19 years ago and he wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for the wonderful staff working that day!

Switchboard operator at my local hospital working 8-3 Christmas Day and Boxing Day - looking forward to my free bacon bap and Xmas lunch tomorrow.
My eldest DD 24 is working 7.30am to 10pm tomorrow in her care home

• doing a double shift so one of the mums can have the day off - super proud of her.

This is the first year in a decade or more that I’m not working Christmas or Boxing Day.
A&E. It’s not too bad usually although no one acknowledges that it’s Christmas!
Boxing day is usually hell on earth after the GPs have been closed for a couple of days or more…

What a lovely, generous thing to do.

Thank you to you all who keep everything ticking over during the festive period 🎄 it's much appreciated and when you do get some time to yourselves, I hope it's thoroughly enjoyable

It is. Hopefully one day will do it for her.

Thank you all very much for supporting the country.

Not everyone celebrates Christmas though, so perhaps that may be one of the reasons?

Like I said, why can't people wait a day or two to catch that flight? It doesn't make that much difference to those that don't celebrate, but it has a massive impact on the wellbeing of the staff that are forced to work.

The vast majority of our staff do celebrate Christmas (UK airline) and amazingly, all of our management are off for the festive period. Just the "front line" staff that are out there grafting away.

If the management are able to take time off with their families, then so should we.

🙄 It's usually cheaper to fly on Christmas Day, especially long haul. So no thanks, I won't wait a day or two to sit around on my sofa when I could be setting off on my lovely winter sun holiday. 🍸

Don't worry, there is a thread running about trains not running on Christmas day and Boxing day. There are a few on there that think that they should and that it's insane that they don't.

I bet these people would kick up a massive fuss if they had to work.

Worked today - speech therapist in forensic psychiatry ward

In hospitality as the UN suggests, I've just had 2 days off and in tomorrow until after new year now, am a late shift tomorrow with a slightly later start than usual as shifts are split to be shorter for everyone, except the poor chefs and senior managers who will be there for the duration pretty much, at least until kitchen closes.
It'll be operation clear up for my shift after a few hundred covers for Christmas Lunch.
Due to my later start, as a family we're getting Christmas on Christmas day this year, and I can't actually remember the last time we did that, I've either been in hospitality or social care and family in NHS clinical so we usually have Christmas day on another day we're all off.

@Rabinroo Is this a new thing since you started? It does grate a bit sometimes when people are having to work to facilitate other people doing non essential leisure things like going on holiday- or going out for Christmas lunch or wanting a pint at the pub - on Christmas day, especially when they have the "Thou shalt serve and be grateful for the opportunity" vibe, or are just out and out arseholes because they can be. I hope you have a good a day as you can, and get to celebrate at some point with loved ones, everyone deserves to be able to do that, even those in roles that serve others, we're not second class citizens who only exist to serve others 💐.

@HospitalitySux I hope you have a good day when it comes too. Thank you.

Yes it is a new thing, we never used to have flights on Christmas day however the airlines have gotten very greedy over the years.

Most staff probably wouldn't mind as much is we were paid a little extra as a thank you. I bet people would likely even volunteer to work for the extra cash, but no, not even a thank you. Just some generic email thanking everyone (sent from the comfort of their own home) it sucks. No one NEEDS to fly on Christmas.

Thank you to all you workers keeping the essential services running throughout the festive period. You will be in my thoughts when I'm flying over you in the clouds, and missing my babies at home.

Social work on call tonight and tomorrow, over 18's.

On call undertaker. Not someone anyone wants to see!

I'm not but the rest of my family are. My dad is a farmer so there is never a day off. Mr Monkey works in retail so only has Christmas day and New Years day off.

Healthcare assistant. Working all through Christmas.

I work for a charity. We provide an essential local service so I'm working christmas day and boxing day then I think I'm actually off straight through until 6th Jan which I hadn't actually realised. That's nice!

Me too, same job. I worked overnight last night into Christmas eve then I'm working overnight tonight into Christmas morning, so sleeping most of Christmas day then all over New Year sending the cops out to incidents. It's 2028 until I've got a Christmas off but I am going to go into the ballot this year to request annual leave for Christmas 2025.