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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that working Christmas 'for show' is ridiculous?

130 replies

blackcats76 · 23/11/2019 14:26

I work in retail, but the division of the company that I work in shuts down over Christmas meaning that there is no work to be completed and you have to essentially make up things to do. Despite this, I've been told I have to come in 'for show' on the 24th and 27th - not sure for who, because, of course, all the directors and managers will be off all of Christmas! AIBU to complain about this?

OP posts:

Canyousewcushions · 23/11/2019 15:02

YABU.

My industry shuts down for that 2week period but out office is still manned- thankfully we have 2 members of staff who voluntarily work it so they can use their leave at other times- otherwise we'd have to have a Rota of people who were there "for show", just in case someone phone the office for whatever reason.

All our bosses are off but their work phones will be on in case the staff in the office need to contact them. Lower grade staff aren't expected to be on unpaid "on call" though.

arethereanyleftatall · 23/11/2019 15:03

Lol, Yabu, stop being silly about complaining! It's their policy. It's up to them. When I worked in McDonald's as a kid, we worked Christmas Day. It made absolutely sounds business sense, irrespective of their sales that day, it was used as a 'we're always open' message.

ClientListQueen · 23/11/2019 15:09

24 and 27 are normal days surely? I work in customer service (car aftersales) and we are only off Christmas Day and Boxing Day

SunshineAngel · 23/11/2019 15:10

My god, why is everyone bleating about them being normal working days? We bloody know that!

The issue is they're not doing anything productive, and are just going in for the sake of things. That would annoy me at ANY time of year, never mind special days that could otherwise be spent with my family.

And of course not everyone gets Christmas off, but I bet the vast majority of those people wouldn't want everyone working just for the sake of things, just because they don't get time off.

Just because things are more shit for someone else doesn't make them any less shit for you.

AntennaReborn · 23/11/2019 15:10

These are normal working days!

Biggobyboo · 23/11/2019 15:11

It seems pointless to sit in an office doing nothing.

hidinginthenightgarden · 23/11/2019 15:18

People are missing the point here and berating OP because others are worse off. When people post that their child is ill, people don't pounce on them because "at least they are alive!"
OP, I would also be annoyed that I have to sit in an empty office, just to save face on days I would prefer to be with my family. Of course you are more fortunate than those working xmas day but for the most part, we all choose our careers with the knowledge that this is part of it. We can be grateful for those people without making them martyrs.

Zaphodsotherhead · 23/11/2019 15:21

Working Christmas Eve is annoying, but usually fun because the atmosphere is great. The 27th is a normal working day though, isn't it? Unless you're in a place that shuts down for the whole of the Christmas period, and retail is NOT that place.

It's a pain to have to try and look busy though.

MsRomanoff · 23/11/2019 15:22

So you want them in addition to your annual leave?

As I said I worked for asda. In projects. It's dead. There still stuff that can be done.

Work or book annual leave.

arethereanyleftatall · 23/11/2019 15:22

Well they rather obviously won't be going in 'for the sake of things.' The company will have their own reasons for asking their staff to work, I have absolutely no idea what that might be, but a company are hardly going to pay staff for a day for no reason are they? I refer to my mcds point above, it was to promote convenience.

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 23/11/2019 15:23

@arethereanyleftatall

When I worked in McDonald's as a kid, we worked Christmas Day.

Same! I did new years day in maccys as a 16 year old we had a right laugh . I think id only had about an hours sleep & was hungover but it was still a scream!

adaline · 23/11/2019 15:23

You're not "working Christmas" though, are you?

The 24th and 27th are normal working days.

BarbaraofSeville · 23/11/2019 15:23

If you work in an office, then it would be a good time to catch up on tasks like email filing or deleting or cleaning out shelves/drawers of crap that every office seems to accumulate. Or use the time to think of some processes that makes everyone's lives easier. Plus you'll probably be allowed to go early on Christmas Eve anyway.

Our office closes between Christmas and New Year, but we have to take annual leave for the three working days, or people can choose to take it unpaid if they don't have the leave left.

This is done on a consensus basis - if enough people objected to closing and using leave, we'd open and people could come into work. There's only ever been the odd one or two out of about 40 people who say they would like to work and they've been fine about not doing so.

MsRomanoff · 23/11/2019 15:24

The company will have their own reasons for asking their staff to work, I have absolutely no idea what that might be,

In retail its several reasons

Firstly, if they close and make people annual leave for these days, people will moan they have to save the Annual leave.

And because they know people in stores cant even book time off, store staff get resentful of how easy office staff have it.

Easier to be open and those who want to use AL can. Of course, if they are open each department will need someone in.

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 23/11/2019 15:27

OP
Those are usual working days. I imagine xmas eve a manager will let yous all get off early.
However, if you dont want to work them, then either book it off or just come in and piss around on the internet all day & eating chocolate like everyone else is. I always loved working these days as we were getting paid to do fuck all .
Complaining would be absurd. If you want to set the employee policies set up your own company.
And as repeated ad nauseum- spare a thought for our 24/7 365 days a year emergency services.

Stupiddriver1 · 23/11/2019 15:28

They’re normal working days, not bank holidays. I’ve had to work them in every office job I’ve had. Guess the company can’t be seen to be giving you extra holiday compared to the shop floor workers. I’m surprised the managers are off!

SemperIdem · 23/11/2019 15:29

Yabu.

I have worked in offices that opened on those days. They are normal working days. Get over yourself.

arethereanyleftatall · 23/11/2019 15:29

Also, I remember when I worked in an office but for a retail company, office staff worked those days because the company felt it was better for the morale of the retail workers who were working. There's always a reason, look at the bigger picture.

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 23/11/2019 15:33

If you work in an office, then it would be a good time to catch up on tasks like email filing or deleting or cleaning out shelves/drawers of crap that every office seems to accumulate.

This x100. I used to bring anti bac wipes in and my annual drawer purge & clean really set me up for the year ahead!
Do you not have archiving or any shitty admin that you dont have time to do or just avoid doingmost of the year?

Pomley · 23/11/2019 15:35

The competitive 'ive worked every Christmas for 30 years' has begun! If there is no legitimate work to be doing and it's just being done to prove some arbitrary point, then YANBU. Others who work over the Christmas period usually do so because there is a need to; therefore it's not ridiculous.

MintyMabel · 23/11/2019 15:41

YABVU 24th and 27th of December are normal working days.

Not if your office is closed they aren’t.

Can we also stop with the “oh but xxxx have to work at Christmas”

Yes they do, but they chose those professions knowing that. I started out in an industry that worked outwith usual office hours. I changed because I didn’t want to do that. If anyone told me now I’d have to work between Christmas and new year, I’d be really pissed off. Especially if there wasn’t any actual work to be done and it was just for show.

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 23/11/2019 15:41

The fact that one of you has a mother who is a midwife has little to do with the OPs circumstances .

I presume that when she went into Midwiffery she knew she would be working all days, all hours from the start.

JacobReesClunge · 23/11/2019 15:43

Yanbu at all.

There are lots of sectors where nothing or very little is done over Christmas. If the managers where OP works are all off and she's been told coming in is for show, hers would appear to be one of them. Making her work is therefore fucking stupid.

And the emergency services have nothing to do with it. They aren't being expected to work for show.

LoudBatPerson · 23/11/2019 15:48

Can you not just book those says off as annual leave?

Businesses cannot really win. They shut and need people to either save annual leave or not get paid and people complain, they stay open and people complain.

Justasconfusedwithnumber2 · 23/11/2019 15:51

Yep it is annoying, although my DH is doing the same. But there's not much point complaining for the reasons PP have mentioned, they expect you to have booked annual leave if you really wanted to. In DHs company he will be doing as others have suggested, clearing out emails etc. In some cases, where very quiet, they are let home 'early'. Those then that do use annual leave complain that they 'wasted' their annual leave while people at work dossed about. Its lose lose for the company when it comes to disgruntled personnel I think.

For the record I also agree its very different to the emergency services staff who are not in for the sake of appearances...

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