Office life hits workers in their wallets with an annual average bill of £1,000
Office workers spend more than £1,000 a year on items including birthdays, figures from Nationwide Current Accounts show.
Nationwide polled 2,000 office workers on the cost of after work drinks, charity donations, birthday presents, coffees and more.
Clothes and bags generated the greatest average bill with £120, while drinks cost of £102.
Other costs included contributions to gifts for retirements and weddings.
And with Secret Santa taking a whopping average of £42 from worker's pockets, it's perhaps not surprising 40 per cent reporting dissatisfaction with the cost of the so-called fun festive office tradition.
The cost of working in an office:
Item / reason |
Average amount spent per year |
Clothes and bags |
£119.16 |
Drinks / nights out (e.g. after work) with colleagues |
£102.24 |
Christmas parties / lunch / dinner |
£96.48 |
Birthdays (cards / presents) |
£66.60 |
Coffee / tea |
£66.36 |
Sweets / treats |
£64.32 |
Technology (e.g. tablet, phone, mouse, calculator) |
£58.32 |
Colleague leaving present / card |
£50.28 |
Comfort items (e.g. tissues, tablets, anti-bac) |
£49.68 |
Weddings |
£47.04 |
Charity / Sponsorship requests |
£44.64 |
Births |
£43.92 |
Secret Santa |
£41.88 |
Stationery |
£41.04 |
Other equipment (e.g. pens, highlighters) |
£38.04 |
Retirements |
£39.24 |
Bereavements |
£33.96 |
TOTAL |
£1,003.20 |