Santa or Scrooge: Only 36% describe their company as "generous" around the holidays

When you think about the upcoming festive season, what comes to mind usually include holiday parties, bonuses, gifts, and generosity.

However, according to the 2018 Holidays at Work Survey commissioned by Spherion Staffing Services, only 36% of those surveyed said their companies are "generous" around the holidays. The bulk of staff (52%) described the holidays at their workplaces as "business as usual", while 13% said their companies are "stingy" during the holidays.

The survey conducted by Research Now SSI polled more than 1,000 people. It revealed that 41% ranked bonuses as the number one item they would most like from their companies during the holidays.

Unfortunately, 46% said their company does not give holiday bonuses or any other monetary gifts during the holidays, and for those that do get a bonus at the holidays, the majority receive less than US$500.

Interestingly, 20% of employees said they didn't want anything extra from their companies for the holidays and that they "love their company and job."

When asked about the perks companies are offering this year, employees cited the following:

• Holiday party (36%)
• Extra time off (28%)
• Holiday bonus (26%)
• Office closure between Christmas and New Years' Day (22%)
• Company-paid holiday meal (18%)
• Employee gift exchange (18%)

The survey noted, that one thing companies are doing well this holiday season is giving back to the community.

Almost half (46%) of employees surveyed said their company will participate in charitable activities/give back to the community this holiday season. The number one activity will be food/clothing/toy/other drives (51%) followed by company volunteer events (18%) and adopting a needy family or child (15%).

Sandy Mazur, Spherion division president, said: "Employers are listening more to employees' desires to work for a company that advocates for causes they care about. We also saw this reflected in our 2018 Emerging Workforce® Study, which showed that 46% of companies surveyed offered paid time off this year for community service versus 26% who did so in 2015.

"Our Emerging Workforce Study also showed that 63% of employees surveyed only want to work for companies that contribute to communities they care about and help better the world. This is one example of a new range of factors that impact recruiting and retention."