Survey: More Employers To Give Year-End Gifts

Nearly half (49%) of the 214 employers surveyed by BNA said that they would be giving employees year-end holiday gift items of cash awards and bonuses, an increase from last year’s 40% of employers who said they planned to do so.

The BNA survey found that 98% of employers will give employees a paid holiday for Christmas Day and 94% for New Year’s; however, 43% of those surveyed plan to allow employees three or more days off between December 2 and January 2, with the manufacturing companies being the most likely to do so. Eighty-two percent of manufacturing companies will give three paid holidays, far outpacing the number of non-manufacturing/service organizations (33%) that plan to do so, and 28% of non-business establishments.

Employers have also decided to cut back on their participation in one or more charitable activities such as toy, food or clothing collections, corporate monetary donations, volunteering and others, with 66% saying they would do so, down from 72% the year before.

The survey also asked employers about their policies with regard to the acceptance of outside gifts and 15% said they banned the acceptance of these gifts entirely, but 52% allow gifts of nominal value that range between $25 and $100.

The number of employers throwing holiday bashes held relatively steady at 82%, dropping just slightly from the 83% the year before, and 86% of employers say they will foot the entire bill. The amount of cash employers are willing to drop on companywide parties leaped from $7,000 in 2006 from $5,000 in 2005.

Another recent survey by Hewitt Associates meant to gauge the end-of-the-year gift practices found that 60% of employers will not offer holiday bonuses of any kind this year and that 52% of them have never done so (See Employers Favor Pay-for-Performance Over Holiday Bonuses).