Three quarters of workers are worried that work will spoil their Christmas, a survey has found.
The Medicash research revealed that 73% of people were concerned about work leading up to Christmas with a quarter (27.7%) worrying that they would miss out by having to work over the festive season, while over 23% feared that their Christmas would be disrupted by thinking about work.
The cash plan provider said the results showed that Christmas did not always provide a break from workplace stress.
CEO Sue Weir said: "The Christmas break can offer a welcome reprieve from the stresses and pressures of work, however the results of the survey show that for many, this might not be the case.
"Workplace stress is a very real issue affecting over 400,000 people in the UK every year, amounting to 10.4 million lost working days and costing UK businesses an average of £3.7bn each year.
"The results of the study are very troubling, showing that many people not only feel pressured to take on extra work to pay for Christmas, but also feel an inability to relax and switch-off over the holiday period.
"It's important that employers are aware of this issue and make every effort to avoid making unrealistic demands on their employees, which can result in adding extra pressure and strain, to what is traditionally an extremely stressful time of year," she added.
Although 58% had not voluntarily taken extra hours during the period, half (50.5%), had previously had their Christmas break interrupted by work, with 37% admitting it had happened more than once.
