Hugging in the workplace – welcomed or weird?

What is the first thing you like to do when you arrive at work? Take your coat off, make a coffee, hug a colleague? 

A recent study has shown that 80 per cent of people do not like to be hugged in the workplace, begging the question whether with such a high proportion of people against it, it should perhaps be banned completely. 

Some people are huggers, naturally feeling comfortable with physical contact. Euro Weekly News spoke to Kay Price, a barmaid working in a local pub in London. “Oh I hug everyone as soon as I get to work”, she explained, “even some of the regulars! I won’t ever stop that, I need it for my good energy for the day!”

Would it be too extreme to stop this group of hug lovers from performing a friendly and loving act? Well, one person who says they would be all for this ban is Noelia Perez. Noelia, who works in a similar establishment in Marbella, Spain stated that: “I hate huggers, and it’s so awkward at the bar when someone comes to give you a hug because you feel rude rejecting it but it makes me feel very uncomfortable. If they were banned completely it would save me this hassle.”

So, a hug in the workplace, welcomed or weird? How do you feel about your colleagues hugging you?