Will you get a break over Christmas?

It looks like being a less than merry Christmas for many IT staff who will be hard at work over the festive period while everyone else in the organisation indulges in mince pies, turkey, sherry, family arguments and the Eastenders Christmas special.

A poll of silicon.com readers asked: "Is Christmas/New Year's a time for essential IT housekeeping at your organisation?"

Just under half – 41 per cent – said 'Yes', meaning they'll be kept busy over the holiday period doing routine maintenance, patching and upgrades and development work, as well as being on call when they finally do get home in case of an emergency.

The other half – 55 per cent - said 'No' and will no doubt be hoping for a well-earned rest from their demanding users, while 4 per cent answered 'Don't know', implying that they've probably already finished for Christmas and started on the sherry.

Whether IT staff will be busy over Christmas will very much depend on what sector they work in. Ric Francis, CIO of Safeway, is one person who will still be very busy.

"In reality the world of grocery retail sets us some of our biggest challenges at Christmas," he told silicon.com. "This is down to higher volumes of goods moving through our environment, more customers looking for those special one-off items or just looking for their regular great deals. The time for a large number of the retail IT community to relax will come in the New Year."

Others, however, will be getting a break. Derek Gannon, IT director at the Guardian, said the IT department has had an agreement with the rest of the business for the last five years for a Christmas freeze on development work that starts the day after the Christmas party.

"We continue with our day-to-day maintenance as we print the Guardian, Observer and a multitude of magazines every day except Christmas day and Boxing Day but I take the approach that Christmas downtime is only good for one thing and that is that it is to give the staff a break," he said. "Most staff want to be with their families over the holiday period, not in work fixing things."

Database administrator Ashutosh Pradhan told silicon.com that the period just before and just after Christmas is the most stressful.

"During Christmas the user load, both in terms of numbers of requests and on the services, is low and hence it is a pretty relaxed time for IT staff, and even if you do make a blunder your boss is likely to be in a forgiving mood during the holiday period," he said.