Poll: Half of employers reward staff with Christmas parties during the festive season

christmas parties

Employee Benefits poll: Almost half (48%) of organisations choose to reward their employees with a Christmas party or meal during the festive period. 

A poll of www.employeebenefits.co.uk readers, which received 45 responses, also found that 16% do not include Christmas at all when looking to reward their staff throughout this period.

Discount vouchers for Christmas shopping was not a popular option for many businesses, as just under one in 10 (9%) of respondents chose this as their primary method of rewarding staff. Meanwhile, rewarding workers with individual gifts was selected by only 2%.

According to a study conducted by Hawk Incentives in December 2019, 60% of staff said they would be happy to receive a small Christmas bonus as a gesture from their employer, while an additional 34% noted that this would help them feel more loyal to their organisation. However, Employee Benefits’ poll results showed that only 11% of employers choose to reward staff with a Christmas bonus. 

With the festive period being a stressful time for many workers, offering additional leave could be an option to help employees better manage their mental health; however, only 12% offer this reward. Although 44% of employees have access to support and flexible working at Christmas to help cope with the pressure of the festive period, according to research by Benenden Health.  

Despite Christmas parties being a popular reward option among employers during the festive season, research by Reward Gateway in November 2019 found that seven in 10 (70%) of employees would forego a Christmas party in favour of more frequent rewards throughout the year. 

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