Younger Employees More Likely to Do Their
Holiday-Shopping Online While on the Job

New York, NY - Over a quarter of working adults (27%) plan to do some holiday shopping while on the job this year, according to a new Ipsos Public Affairs-Randstad survey of over 1,000 employed U.S. adults. At the same time, one in three employed adults (32%) say that that shopping online is the biggest mistake one can make at work over the holidays.

Attitudes towards online holiday-shopping while on the job vary greatly with age. Young workers under the age of 35 are almost three times as likely to plan on shopping online while at work than are those aged 55 and older (38% vs. 14%). Working adults who intend to do their holiday shopping on the clock are most prevalent among college graduates (36%), Northeasterners (33%), those with a household income of at least $50,000 (32%), and parents (31%).

Among workers who plan to do online shopping for the holidays during work hours, four in ten (40%) plan to only spend an hour or two doing so, though a third (33%) plan to spend over five hours.

Holiday Season Mistakes

When asked what would be the biggest mistake they could make at work over the holidays, more cite online shopping (32%) than:

• Being overzealous about holiday decorations and celebrations (16%),
• Taking too much vacation time (12%),
• Not attending the holiday party (11%),
• Not giving gifts to their boss or co-workers (7%), or
• Some other type of mistake (22%).

While online holiday shopping during work hours is seen as the worst mistake to make across demographic groups, women are more likely to hold this view than are men (36% vs. 29%).

Holiday Parties

While holiday parties are generally viewed positively by employees, nearly all workers surveyed say they would be willing to give up the party if it meant more money in their pocket. Though roughly three quarters feel that holiday parties help to build morale (78%) and are a good way to be rewarded for hard work throughout the year (72%), more than nine in ten (93%) would rather receive a bonus than have a holiday party. Half of all respondents say they would be willing to forgo the holiday party and give the money to charity instead (51%). Less than three in ten (29%) believe that having work parties is inappropriate during these tough economic times.

• Attitudes toward work holiday parties also vary by age. Employees under 35 are more likely to view them as morale builders (83%) and a good reward for hard work (80%) while employees aged 55 and over - who presumably have attended many holiday parties in their lifetime - are more likely to wish that the money for their office party would be donated to charity instead (59%).

Gift Giving at Work

With half of employees (48%) reporting that they do not give gifts at work, it's no surprise that so few see not exchanging gifts as a mistake.

Among the 52% of employees surveyed who do exchange gifts with their colleagues, most (41%) say it is because it's the right thing to do. Fewer say that they give gifts at work because everyone else does (15%), because they want to earn points with superiors (6%), or to make amends (2%). Over a third of work gift givers (36%) say that they do so for some other reason.

• Men are more likely than are women to say that they do not give gifts at work (53% vs. 43%). However, among those who do give gifts, men are more likely than women to say it is because they want to get in better with the boss (10% vs. 2%).
• Employed adults under 35 are more likely than those who are older to give gifts at work (59% vs. 49%), and are more likely to do so because it's the right thing to do (46%) or to win over their superiors (12%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted October 28 - November 1, 2010. For the survey, a national sample of 1,018 adults aged 18 and older who are currently employed from Ipsos' U.S. online panel were interviewed online. Weighting was employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of employed adults aged 18 and older in the United States had been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this press release, please contact:

Nicolas Boyon Senior Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs (646) 364.7583 [email protected]

OR

Rebecca Sizelove Senior Research Manager Ipsos Public Affairs (212) 584.9253 [email protected]

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