Workers say TLC is top Valentine's gift

TLC and attention are the top gifts for St Valentine's Day, a survey of Irish workers has revealed today.

The RecruitIreland.com survey of attitudes towards St Valentine’s Day showed less than 25% of respondents rated flowers as the best gift on St Valentine’s Day and jewellery got just 11% of votes.

This contrasts sharply with the massive 45% of respondents who stated that the best gift was one that costs nothing, simply a little tender loving care (TLC) and attention.

Spending on St Valentine’s Day is expected to remain high, however.

Over 50% of respondents expect to spend anything from €21 to €100 on a gift for their Valentine this year.

12% of respondents said they intend to spend nothing and that they don’t believe in St Valentine’s Day.

In a similar vein, the majority of employees (96%) do not receive any form of gift from their employers on St Valentine’s Day.

The RecruitIreland.com survey also shows that a large number of Irish people meet their partners at work which raises the need for employers to have appropriate policies in place to deal with potential emotional and relationship issues.

The survey of 1,000 people, which was carried out by RecruitIreland.com over the past number of weeks, also shows that almost 77% of respondents think the day is overrated.

This figure is also linked to views on Irish perceptions of our romantic nature. 79% of respondents say that Irish people are less romantic than other nationalities.

Almost 20% of respondents met their current partner through work. This figure tallies with the fact that 22% of respondents have received a St Valentine’s Day gift from a former or current colleague in the workplace.

When it comes to workplace romance it appears the majority (84%) of respondents feel that employers do not have a right to know that their employees have become romantically involved with each other.

Speaking about the survey results, Aoife Curtin of RecruitIreland.com.com said: “These results make for interesting reading and it seems the commercialism attached to St Valentine’s Day is a real turn-off for Irish workers as all we want is a little TLC.

"On a more serious note, it should be pointed out that Irish employers could be held liable if their employees make unwanted advances towards other employees while on work premises or while at social outings organised by the employer. The fact that almost 20% of respondents met their current partner through work points to the significance for employers of having clear policies in place to appropriately deal with harassment concerns and other related issues.”