WIREDGOV

Santa Claus isn't the only one to face herculean tasks of organisation and management over the festive season. Christmas, now the world's largest global festival, sees individuals, businesses, and voluntary organisations take on unprecedented levels of activity and organisation, says Professor Philip Hancock, work and organisation expert from Essex Business School. "Organising Christmas is one of the most pressurised activities of the entire year," Professor Hancock points out. "Worldwide, the greatest organisational efforts of the year are focused on Christmas Day."

Making Christmas happen is a massive socio-economic and organisational endeavour, Professor Hancock will argue at an event 'The Organisation and Business of Christmas' held during the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Festival of Social Science. And it's not just big business that must manage an extraordinary peak of activity.

"Whether it's shopping for presents, buying food or preparing Christmas lunch for a houseful of extended relatives, Christmas for most of us demands a great deal of extra work and organisation," Professor Hancock points out. 2And Christmas doesn't just mean families working harder. Across society – in voluntary organisations, the NHS, the police, mental health services, recycling centres – people have to manage extra Christmas-related demands whether it’s more alcohol related injuries, Christmas lunches for homeless people or more rubbish at the local tip."

For retailers, who on average in the UK see a 30-40 per cent increase in sales during December, Christmas means heightened work activity. Even department store Santas are working harder than ever. Studying Santa Claus performers, Professor Hancock found that Santas could be expected to see up to 400 children in their grotto over a four hour period. "One Santa said the primary purpose of his 'elves' was to tell him to work faster and speed up the flow of children through the grotto," Professor Hancock notes.

And all this extra work doesn't just apply to Western economies. Despite its relationship to Christianity, Christmas is a festival that has an increasingly global appeal and presence. "The stereotypical Anglo-American Christmas, driven by mass marketing and other cultural media, is now a truly global event, touching in one way or another all corners of the planet," Professor Hancock explains. In Japan, on Christmas Day, the family meal often consists of a Festive Bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, promoted and perceived as the traditional Western Christmas dinner. In China, more is now spent at Christmas than during the traditional Duanwu and Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Across the globe, people are involved in a frenzy of organisation in pursuit of the seamless, utterly effortless Christmas of our dreams," Professor Hancock states. "For an event that involves so much global and organisational activity, the simple truth is that people find it extremely difficult to take Christmas seriously as an event of organisational or even, in some quarters, economic significance." With only seven weeks left, now may be the time to give the organisational phenomenon that is Christmas the credit it deserves.

For further information contact:

• Professor Philip Hancock, University of Essex 
  Email: phancock@essex.ac.uk
  Telephone: 01206 873923

ESRC Press Office

• Aaron Boardley 
  Email: aaron.boardley@esrc.ac.uk
  Telephone: 01793 413122
• Susie Watts 
  Email: susie.watts@esrc.ac.uk
  Telephone: 01793 413119

Notes for editors

1. Event: The Organisation and Business of Christmas
   Location: Colchester Castle Museum, Castle Park, Colchester, CO1 1TJ 
   Date: 8 November 2014, 14.00-16.00
2. Philip Hancock is Professor of Work and Organisation at Essex Business School, the University of Essex.
3. The 12th annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 1-8 November 2014 with over 200 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientists and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme of events and you can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival.
4. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funds research into the big social and economic questions facing us today. We also develop and train the UK’s future social scientists. Our research informs public policies and helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective. Most importantly, it makes a real difference to all our lives. The ESRC is an independent organisation, established by Royal Charter in 1965, and funded mainly by the Government. In 2015 the ESRC celebrates its 50th anniversary.