Counting cost of office extras ... £40,000 during your career!

From quick cuppas to chipping in for colleagues' birthday presents, office staff can expect to spend staggering £40,000-plus on workplace costs in a lifetime.
Pots of money: coffee soaks up large part of 1,000 average annual work costsPots of money: coffee soaks up large part of 1,000 average annual work costs
Pots of money: coffee soaks up large part of 1,000 average annual work costs

Nationwide commissioned research reveals office workers will spend an average £1,000 annually on workplace costs such as buying refreshments, Secret Santa and retirement gifts.

Findings from survey of 2,000 office staff across the UK does not even include daily costs of lunches and commuting to work.

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Not all office workers are happy to share the costs though. Two-fifths (42 per cent) of men admitted to feeling unhappy about spending money at Christmas parties, compared with over a third (34 per cent) of women.

Recent Christmas parties are another costly event for workers with 20 per cent of women admitting to feeling pressured into spending money at the office festive bash whereas only 12 per cent of men feel the same.

Workers are also feeling reluctant to share their hard earned cash with gifts for colleagues too as 28 per cent felt pressured into contributing towards a birthday gift and 27 per cent felt the same for leaving presents.

Charity requests don't go down well with colleagues either as nearly a third (32 per cent) said they felt pressured into contributing money to colleagues charity fundraising efforts.

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“Working in an office can be an expensive business, especially in big teams,” explains Alan Oliver, Nationwide's head of external affairs.

“While most people value the camaraderie of working in a team, birthdays, retirements and charity fundraisers can take their toll on our wallets and purses.”

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