More than 50% of employees dread the office Christmas party

Over three quarters of businesses are set to do something nice for their employees over Christmas, but is the office party the best choice?

Nearly a third (32.3%) of employees do not have an office Christmas party, according to a new survey commissioned by Reward Gateway . And of those who do, 54% of employees do not look forward to the celebrations.

1,000 UK workers participated in the survey, carried out by the global leader in employee engagement technology, to find out what companies do for their employees for Christmas and what employees actually think about these reward and recognition practices.

It’s not all bah-humbug for the Christmas party – 18% of respondents said it was the office highlight of the year, and it was especially popular with the 16 – 34 year olds. When asked if their employer does anything nice for the entire company over the festive period, of the 39% who have an office Christmas party, 25% said they will enjoy an all expenses paid for event, and 14% said it will be subsidised. 15% will be getting a Christmas bonus and nearly 10% will receive a gift.

Debra Corey, Group Reward Director at Reward Gateway said, “It’s great to see so many organisations finding ways to reward and recognise their employees in some way for the festive season. A Christmas party can be a great way to do this, but as the survey shows, they’re not right for everyone.“

“A strong reward and recognition strategy is the starting point and a must for businesses who want to attract, engage and retain the very best. Whatever you do this Christmas, it should be part of a wider year-long strategy, and not stand on its own. A Christmas party is the cherry on top, rather than the foundation of the strategy. Having the right reward and recognition tools in place will result in happier, more productive employees. That’s our mission here at Reward Gateway: to make the world a happier place to work.”

Here are some other highlights from the survey:

A surprising 36% said that their employer didn’t do anything “nice” for the entire company over the period (parties, bonuses, presents, gifted holiday or shorter working hours in the run up to Christmas and New Year)
28% thought their employer could do more for the company at Christmas
A third of respondents feel that being treated at Christmas could boost staff morale at their company
17% said they will definitely not be going to the office Christmas party (evenly matched between male and females)
21% of women surveyed said the Christmas party is the office highlight of the year (compared to 16% of men)
Nearly 7% said they would do their best to avoid it or leave as early as possible.

For more information contact Sophie Lister, Emily Jones, Nelly Akpaka at Hudson Sandler on +44 20 7796 4133 or rg@hudsonsandler.com

Photographs are available to download from Reward Gateway’s media library at http://rg.co/mediaphotos