University News Last updated 06 December 2011
Men throughout the UK are saying ‘ho ho no’ when it comes to Christmas, according to new research.
Commissioned as part of the ‘Sparkling at Christmas’ campaign, the nationwide survey by Visit Birmingham revealed that men are a bunch of Christmas grinches with nearly a third (31%) tearing their hair out at the sound of festive jingles. In comparison, only one in five women (19%) get irritated by hearing the same songs every winter, and over half (55%) enjoy listening to Christmas music as it gets them into the festive mood.
Stretched budgets are just one reason why nearly a third (31%) of UK workers won’t be treated to a Christmas party this year, which will come as welcome news to men, with one in three (31%) branding their work Christmas party “rubbish”. Women are less likely to freeze out Christmas parties altogether with more than a third (36%) claiming the annual celebration is a great way to get people together.
Dr Baljit Kaur Rana, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at Birmingham City University, said: “The findings clearly highlight the traditional gender divide that exists between men and women in British society – whereas masculinity reflects materialistic, egocentric values, feminism focuses on communal values of nurturing, generosity and charity. In this way, Christmas is widely construed as ‘women’s work’, and females have been socialised to worry about the needs of others, bringing family members together at this time of year.”
The survey also found that men are a bunch of office scrooges when it comes to Secret Santa, with nearly half of men (49%) claiming they don’t enjoy / take part in the festive frivolity, compared to one in three (32%) women who will always get involved in buying presents for work-mates. Seasonal decorations don’t do it for men either, with over a third (35%) refusing to ‘deck the halls’ until the week before Christmas – that’s if they put up any at all. Women, on the other hand, are keen to spread the festive cheer with over half (62%) showering the house with Christmas decorations as soon as the calendar hits 1st December.