Meet the women who work on the Christmas front line – from A&E nurses to retail staff

For millions of people across the UK, Christmas is a time to eat, drink and be merry after a long, hard year. But spare a thought for those who have to work over the festive period, many in professions that are dominated by women.

From nursing to retail, many sectors don’t grind to a halt during the holidays but instead get busier.

The Independent spoke to women in jobs in which females are statistically overrepresented, about what it is like working through Christmas while the rest of the country takes a break.

Anna Kent has often worked on Christmas Day in her 12 years as a midwife and 20 as a nurse. Her experience covers a whole range of emotions, from the joy of a new birth to the tragedy of a young death.

The 41-year-old says: “I’ve left the shift crying many times on Christmas Day. Just because it is Christmas Day, it doesn’t make people exempt from the dangers of giving birth.

“It is the worst feeling when you can’t do the job you want for people because there aren’t enough staff around you. Letting people down is horrendous any day of the year, but especially at Christmas.”

One tragedy came when she looked after a 17-year-old boy who died from cardiac arrest in A&E on Christmas morning after taking ecstasy the night before.

And pressures on the NHS certainly don’t disappear at Christmas, with the fortunes of a shift depending largely on how well staffed it is.

But Ms Kent, who works at the Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, says staff morale is “high” and there is a feeling of “camaraderie” among the workers, as she explains how the NHS can feel like a “family”.

And she has also helped to give families the best present they can have by delivering babies on Christmas Day.

“I’ve had some wonderful experiences,” Ms Kent says. “One Christmas morning, a lady opted to have a water birth without a birth partner. Carols were playing over the music. There were soft twinkly lights. We were in warm water. We had aromatherapy. It was quite magical, she was really chilled out. We really connected.”

Martyna Gasiorowsko, assistant manager at a high-end clothing boutique in Carnaby Street, London, says Christmas is the busiest time of the year.

“I already know what to prepare myself for,” the 28-year-old from Poland says. “It is stressful, it is a lot. There are much more customers. I haven’t been back home to Poland for Christmas for five years. When you work in retail, you can’t take holiday in that part of the year.”

She says Brexit has meant it is now more difficult to find employees, so her workplace can struggle with being understaffed.

It was initially difficult not to be able to see her family at Christmas, she adds, noting that they find it “almost scandalous” that she has to work during the festive period.

“In Poland, everything is shut from the 24 to 27 December because it is a Catholic country,” she says. “You go to church. My family assumes I am very unhappy working Christmas, but because I’ve done this for so long I don’t mind that much. Eventually, you just go numb. It is sad when you are first going through it.”

Ms Gasiorowsko says sometimes she feels “a bit relieved” she does not have to do a family Christmas – quipping that her bank account also prefers it. “The stress at work I am able to take control of,” she adds. “The one at home is more difficult.”

Rachel Charles, a careworker for six years, says it can be very busy on Christmas Day as more staff are off work.

The 40-year-old, who cares for those who are at the end of their lives in their own homes, adds: “It is difficult being away from your family. I have to get my kids up to open their presents at around 5.30am and then my husband looks after them all day. It is a 13-hour shift.”

The mother of five, who lives in the East Midlands, says her family redoes Christmas Day on Boxing Day. She explains that, fortunately, her children understand that people need help during the festive period.

“Some people are sad,” Ms Charles recalls. “Some of the older people are quite lonely. They don’t have family who go to see them. We spend extra time with them.

“There are some clients who don’t like Christmas as it highlights the fact that their family aren’t interested. For some patients who are dying, who have loved ones there, Christmas gets put on the back burner.

“It is a strange one – you become used to death. I do feel carers are underrated by the government. There is a lot of pressure put on carers. When pay rises come to play for nurses, we are overlooked. Without us, the nurses wouldn’t be able to do their job.”

Epiphany Jones, a sex worker who lives in London, tells The Independent that some of her clients are isolated on Christmas Day so she always sets time aside to do video calls with them.

Ms Jones, who does cam work, adds: “Over the Christmas holidays, I’m going to be spending a lot of time with fans online. The men are really lonely. Sometimes, they are depressed. I like to cheer up their spirits and make them feel loved. Everyone deserves to feel loved, especially at Christmas.”

The 33-year-old says a lot of the men she does video calls with on Christmas Day are on their own as they are working or do not have a family.

“My biggest thing is discretion with my clients,” she adds. “If they want to tell me, they will tell me. When they are with me they want to forget and escape reality. They are in a fantasy world, so I don’t want to bring them back to reality.

“Some say they don’t like Christmas and it is a sad time of year because it brings back bad memories. People have passed away, so they just like to jump into that fantasy world to forget their troubles.

“I set a time before friends and family come on Christmas day where I set up video calls and I open Christmas presents with fans.”

Rachael, a nursing manager at a paediatric A&E service in London, frequently works through the festive period and last year worked 12 hours on Christmas night. She often sees the dark side of the celebrations first-hand.

“The joys of Christmas can be marred,” she says. “Sometimes the fun can go too far. Domestic violence incidents can increase at Christmas time.”

Long hours and unsociable shifts can also cause problems for family get-togethers at this time of year. “You can’t travel to see relatives,” the mother of two, who did not want her surname used, says. “Staff have got to find their own way in. Cabs paid for by the NHS stopped a number of years ago.

“Childcare is the hardest thing to arrange around nursing work life. Christmas is agonisingly hard because there are no childcare and transport options. You rely on your family or the generosity of your colleagues instead to make shift swaps.”

But there is camaraderie to be had on the wards, despite the difficult circumstances. “We try to be upbeat with one another,” says Rachael, who has been a nurse for 11 years. “There is no point in being doom and gloom about it. Most people want to be somewhere else, but the nature of our work is 24/7.”

Rachael says Christmas was very lonely for patients last year due to Covid visiting rules, as they may have spent the whole day or the majority of the day without loved ones beside them.

“Nobody wants to be in hospital over Christmas,” she says. “We will try to create as happy an environment as possible.”

She explains that it can be busier on Christmas Day, as extra people come to the area, but that it can also be “weirdly quiet”. “People are always surprised when they come in and see we are open,” she adds.