What employees really want for the holidays
In the history of horrible company holiday gifts, there have been some doozies. Employees have received photos of their bosses, $2 bills, toilet paper and dried beans.
It doesn't have to be this difficult. In fact, bosses of America, we'll make it really easy on you this holiday. It turns out many of your workers want just one thing under the tree: cold, hard cash (surprise!).
Staffing company Express Employment Professionals polled hundreds of workers recently, asking them how their companies could best show appreciation to employees. Some 27 percent said they would like a cash bonus most of all, while 13 percent said they wanted pay raises.
To be sure, some employees would have the same answer no matter what the economic climate. But in this economy, cash -- or, rather, the lack of it -- is a pressing concern for many Americans. Wages have grown weakly not only since the Great Recession, but for decades. The median U.S. income this year was $53,385, according to Sentier Research. That's down 4 percent from the $55,446 people earned in 2009.
Other employees surveyed weren't so focused on cash. About 9 percent said they would be happy with some days off, or at least shortened work hours, over the holidays. And 5 percent said that gift cards would be the best.
Or bosses may just want to forget about the holiday party completely. Only 1 percent of those polled said they even want a holiday party, and another 1 percent said they hoped for some gift item other than money. But 35 percent said they'd like to see a combination of some of the above -- a day off and a bonus.
And what do managers have to say about all this? Express Employment Professionals also asked 400 employers what they planned to give their workers this year. Here's what they said:
- Cash: 34 percent
- Nothing at all: 21 percent
- Gift cards: 12 percent
- Other: 7 percent
- Extra days off: 3 percent
- Tangible gifts: 3 percent
- A combination of the above: 19 percent
That 21 percent of companies who planned to offer nothing at all to workers for the holidays stood out to Bob Funk, CEO of Express Employment Professionals. Bosses don't have to be extravagant about holiday gifts, but they should show some appreciation, even if it's just in the form of a thank you note, he added.
"Even the simplest gesture can go a long way and make the holiday season that much brighter for the people who make your business possible."