Maybe they can be thanked for keeping national productivity levels from falling in December. Overall productivity doesn't suffer, though, according to annual federal data that measures what we produce and how long it takes us to do it. That might be partly because of a tendency by workers to crunch more work into less time when they have to, economists say. The advertising agency is finishing 1999 projects and developing work for 2000. Productivity tends to slip at the end of the year for a variety of reasons, Mr. Wetmore said.
Many companies run out of budget money to do things.
If we didn't have something like Christmas, we'd have to invent something. It's a good time to review the year, make plans for the next and attend to projects put off from other times. Andrew DuBrin, a professor of management at Rochester Institute of Technology, said an old economics theory suggests that work expands to fill the time available to do it. Tandy Corp. said recently that it would let more than 3,000 employees at company sites with Internet service shop online during breaks or before and after work. The company said the new policy was aimed at making the holiday season a less-hurried experience for employees.