One in five plan to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee but most Brits want to have a ‘relaxing’ bank holiday weekend

New research by HR software provider Ciphr has revealed how millions of Brits are planning on spending their time over the forthcoming four-day bank holiday weekend.

Based on a poll of more than 1,000 people last week, the results show that around one in five (21%) have made plans to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in some way over 2-5 June.

Visiting a local jubilee-themed event is the most popular activity for people to mark the special occasion (14%), while a further one in ten (11%) are planning on holding or attending a jubilee street party. Around the same number (10%) will be catching the action via televised coverage of official jubilee events, such as the Trooping the Colour parade, the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, and all-star Platinum Party At The Palace concert.

Of course, a large percentage of the population will still be working, or on-call, at least some of the time. According to Ciphr’s findings, around a third (31%) of adults in the UK do typically have to work over public bank holidays. So, the next ones are probably no exception.

Of those who have been given the day off as paid holiday, one in six (17%) admit that they are likely to spend at least an hour or more doing some unpaid overtime, such as checking or replying to emails.

For most people though, the jubilee bank holiday is a great opportunity to rest, unwind and catch up with loved ones.

Survey respondents were given a list of 40 activities and asked which ones they intend to spend at least two hours doing over the jubilee bank holiday weekend (from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June).

The most popular pick for over a third of people (35.4%) is to do nothing but relax and take it easy. Meeting up with family runs a close second (34.9%).

Spending time with their partner or significant other is the third favourite thing to do (32%), followed by meeting up with friends (29%) and the less-fun prospect of doing cleaning and household chores (26%).

Over a fifth of those surveyed expect to spend at least two hours (probably more) staring at screens – either online browsing and social scrolling, or binge-watching TV shows and films (25% and 21% respectively). Although outdoor activities, such as gardening and dog walking, do also feature prominently in the top 20.

Here’s a run-down of the most popular bank holiday weekend plans:

1. Taking it easy / relaxing (35%)
2. Meeting up with family (35%)
3. Spending time with my partner / significant other (32%)
4. Meeting up with friends (29%)
5. Doing cleaning and household chores (26%)
6. Online browsing and / or social media scrolling (25%)
7. Going out for a meal or drinks (24%)
8. Cooking / baking (22%)
9. Binge-watching TV or films (21%)
10. Spending time in nature / the great outdoors (20%)
11. Catching up on sleep (20%)
12. Keeping my kids busy / entertained (19%)
13. Going shopping (18%)
14. Exercising (18%)
15. Gardening (16%)
16. Walking the dog(s) (15%)
17. Hosting a BBQ at home (14%)
18. Going to a local jubilee event (14%)
19. Doing life admin (14%)
20. Having a picnic (13%)

Notably, there are some generational differences in the ways that people plan to spend their time. For starters, meeting up with family is the first choice for people under 45, while over 45s prefer ‘taking it easy’ it seems.

Meeting up with friends is the second-most popular choice for over a quarter (28%) of 18-to-24-year-olds, followed by cooking or baking, then catching up with sleep (27% and 24% respectively).

The age group most likely to prioritise spending time with their partner, and going out for food or drinks, are 24-to-34-year-olds (37% and 31% respectively).

Nearly a third (30%) of 35-to-44-year-olds will be busy keeping their kids entertained. They’re also most likely to be the ones hosting a BBQ at home (20%).

Relaxing is by far the most popular activity for two-fifths (40%) of generation X-ers, aged 45 to 54. But, interestingly, exercising also makes their top ten (selected by 22% of respondents in this age group).

Lastly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, baby boomers are almost twice as likely as their Gen Z or millennial counterparts to be doing a spot of gardening (selected by 24% of over-55s, compared to 11% of those aged 18-to-34-years-old).

David Richter, director of marketing at Ciphr, says: “However you’re planning on spending the Queen’s Jubilee bank holiday weekend, do try to make sure you factor in some down time. Research shows that taking a proper holiday, or break from work, if you can, is important for maintaining work-life balance and your health and wellbeing. It can help counter stress and burnout, and help you feel more energised and engaged.

“So, next time you’re reaching for your phone to check your emails out-of-hours or while on holiday – think twice. Because it can probably wait, and everyone needs some time away to relax, take it easy, and disconnect properly from work.”

Ciphr polled 1,006 employed UK adults between 18-21 May 2022 to find out how people intend to spend the Queen’s Jubilee bank holiday weekend. The full results are available at https://www.ciphr.com/jubilee-survey.

Ciphr has also created a new jubilee-themed brainteaser, which is challenging puzzlers to spot the hidden crown in a crowded jubilee scene: https://www.ciphr.com/jubilee-brainteaser.

More than 600 organisations use Ciphr’s HR systems and people management software solutions globally across the public, private and non-profit sectors, to keep their people connected and working more efficiently.

For more information, please visit www.ciphr.com.

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Media enquiries:
Emma-Louise Jones, digital PR manager at Ciphr
e: [email protected]
t: 01628 244206

David Richter, director of marketing at Ciphr
e: [email protected]
Website: www.ciphr.com
Twitter: @CiphrHRSoftware
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ciphr

Notes:

Ciphr polled 1,006 employed UK adults between 18-21 May 2022.

Survey respondents were asked the following question and could multi-select from 40 answer options: Which of the following activities do you think you’ll spend at least two hours doing over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend (from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June)?

If you enjoyed Ciphr’s Jubilee-themed brainteaser, then why not try Ciphr’s Christmas-themed puzzles:  https://www.ciphr.com/christmas-spot-the-difference-brainteaser and https://www.ciphr.com/christmas-brainteaser-2022-can-you-spot-the-five-candy-canes

There’s also a refreshed Coronation-themed brainteaser puzzle to solve, which was released to celebrate King Charles III’s Coronation: Spot the orb! Can you solve this coronation-themed brainteaser in under 30 seconds?

Ciphr is a specialist provider of SaaS HR, payroll, recruitment and learning software through its HCM platform, Ciphr Connect. Ciphr’s cloud-based solutions help busy HR teams to streamline their processes across the entire employee lifecycle and spend more time working strategically.

Ciphr Connect enables seamless integration, not only with Ciphr’s own solutions but also to an ecosystem of specialist, third-party tools using its modern API technology.

Ciphr is a privately held company, headquartered in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Over 200 employees work across the group, which includes Ciphr, Digits LMS and Payroll Business Solutions (PBS).

Ciphr Group spokespeople are available to provide expert media comment on a broad range of topics, including HR strategy, people management, employee experience and wellbeing, the future of work, tech trends, business and leadership, learning and development, and more.

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