Secret Santa 'reveals office workers' true feelings'

The majority of office workers use the game “Secret Santa” to show their true feelings for their work colleagues, according to a poll out today.

A survey by British high street retailer Woolworths found that nine out of ten workers could not wait to embark on the traditional secret Santa game, as it was their one chance in the year to tell their colleagues exactly what they thought of them.

Secret Santa – a staple part of office Christmas celebrations – involves each member of staff picking a colleague’s name from a hat, and buying that person a gift.

Over half (57%) of people admitted to using Secret Santa to tell a work colleague that they fancied them, with the majority of men choosing a sexy Santa’s outfit for the woman of their dreams while women opted for a love compilation CD.

The boss was the most unpopular person to buy a gift for, with 83% of votes saying it was hard to choose an appropriate present.

Though if they were unfortunate enough to pick their manager, The Office Christmas Specials DVD was the preferred choice for a nice boss, and “How to win friends and influence people” book for a horrid boss.

And 15% said that if they had to buy something for a colleague they did not like they would try to swap with somebody else.

A fifth said Secret Santa was a drain on their financial situation as they already have too many presents to buy for the family.

Despite this, the majority considered it to be an important part of celebrating Christmas in the office, with 5% admitting to recycling old gifts that they have been given in the past.

More than 45% said they reluctantly splashed out at least £5 (€7.20) – while a quarter of workers spend up to £10 (€14.40) on their work colleagues.

Nicole Lander, Woolworths spokesperson, said: “The Secret Santa game has been part of the office environment for many years, and it seems that we have just found out why it is so popular.

“It’s a fun way of celebrating Christmas with your work colleagues, and the perfect opportunity to send secret messages to the different characters you work with through your chosen gifts.”