Do holidays hurt productivity?

Roughly one-third of the nation's senior managers say their employees' productivity decreases during the holiday season, according to a survey conducted by Accountemps.

Of the more than 1,000 senior managers surveyed, 28% said employees are somewhat less productive the week before a major holiday, while 6% said workers are much less productive. Combining the two yields a 34% mark, or roughly one-third of respondents.

In 2005, 44% of respondents said productivity declined before a holiday, Accountemps said in a release.

Of the managers surveyed this year, 48% said productivity does not change immediately before a holiday, while 12% said employees are somewhat more productive and 6% said they are much more productive.

Accountemps offers job search services online at www.accountemps.com, and from more than 350 offices across the globe. The company is a division of Robert Half International, which is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif.