British boss urged to be Scrooge-like

Press, 5 December 1986, Page 15

British boss urged to be Scrooge-like

robin CHARTERIS,

By

in London

More than a century after Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol,” British bosses are being urged to follow Ebenezer Scrooge’s example. The traditional boardroom and office parties should be banned, even a harmless kiss under the mistletoe frowned upon, says the British Institute of Directors.

The seasonal message to members in the institute’s magazine, “Director,” is that such festive frolicking interferes with business efficiency, as do the breathalyser charges and marital problems that invariably follow as merry workers eventually go home. The magazine’s editor, Mr George Bickerstaffe, comments: “Businessmen should not be afraid of being called ‘Scrooges’ if they take a hard look ai the way Christmas intrudes increasingly intc business life.

“If we are going tc

make New Year resolutions, let’s vow that this Christmas will be the last for business, and keep the occasion for the family.” Mr Bickerstaffe cites two examples for British industry. Normally partyloving West Germans never celebrate Christmas at the office, he says. The chief executive of the British Rover Group, Mr Graham Day, will be at his desk on Christmas Day while his staff waste time tucking into turkey and Christmas pudding. The magazine’s exhortation has drawn sharp rejoinders from some individual firms. British Steel says its Christmas parties are outside working time and paid for by employees. Another told journalists that what its staff did was “our business and nobody else’s.” A report published by the Association of Marketing Survey Organisations claims the average British household will spend more than £250 (5725) on Christmas presents and other festive goods.