What Employees REALLY Want For Christmas

With the holiday season upon us, it’s always a good opportunity to let your employees know how much you appreciate them and use the festivities to engage them and increase morale. But do you know what they really want?

To party or not to party?

A lot of companies go all out on a Christmas office party – which isn’t a bad thing really – but when asked, only 2% of employees listed the office Christmas party as their preferred holiday reward (a shocking percentage, even to the biggest anti-party advocates), which obviously tells us something. 

The Good Ol’ Options

Another way is the good old Christmas bonuses. However, studies show that bonuses have the least impact among rewards of monetary value. Granted, they are useful, but their problem is they tend to go towards mundane expenses, and eventually get forgotten as a part of one’s salary. No one really remembers (let alone becomes engaged and more loyal to a company) for using their salary to pay a bill.

Some employers resort to another supposedly tried and true Christmas gift, which is a Turkey or a ham to all employees, while totally dismissing the fact that a significant number of their employees may actually have no use for these because of dietary choices. And it goes without saying that the last thing a company wants from a costly reward is it to backfire and come across as thoughtless.

The Crowd Pleaser

Which brings us to the safest and most popular choice: a prepaid gift card. With 50% of respondents citing gift cards as their preferred gift this year because of their ease of use, convenience and the ability to buy items of their own choosing. Better yet, a gift card they can use for something special that the whole family could enjoy. A workplace gift that extends to the employee’s family and personal life is always the best choice.

What would make a gift card even better? If it can be redeemed at a variety of stores that cover most – if not all – possible preferences. If that doesn’t make you employer of the year, we’re not sure what does!