Almost half (47%) of businesses said they planned to provide staff with year-end bonuses for Christmas 2022, according to research by Just Eat for Business.
The Corporate Christmas Rewards Study surveyed 200 decision-makers at UK organisations, and found that 81% planned to host a party to mark the festive season and reward employees. Only 7% were certain they would not be planning a party this year.
Almost half (48%) of those planning a party said it aimed to be bigger and better than those thrown pre-pandemic. For those not planning a party, the most significant hurdle was budget (57%), but 14% said this was due to having a remote workforce.
For those planning on providing Christmas bonuses, employers based the decision on sales targets (31%), profits (30%) and employees’ personal goals (29%).
Other than parties and bonuses, to celebrate Christmas 2022 employers were planning Secret Santas (34%), lunches (34%), corporate gifts (27%), and office catering (20%).
Two-fifths (41%) of those surveyed admitted that they could be doing more to incentivise staff year-round.
Rosie Hyam, people partner at Just Eat for Business, said: “Rewarding employees is key to a good working atmosphere and ensuring that staff members feel appreciated. Giving back can also have a huge impact on staff morale and retention, especially going into the new year.
“As many businesses have a higher number of remote workers than ever before, it’s now even more vital that businesses are doing all they can to try and make staff members feel appreciated.
“Yet this can be easier said than done, especially considering that many businesses state the main reason for not incentivising staff this year is due to budget issues, but rewarding staff doesn’t have to come with big budgets.
“There are numerous ways in which employers can ensure that staff remain motivated, and a key way of doing so is to break up monotonous working routines. Understandably, during the run-up to Christmas, not all employees are willing to give up their personal time, so a good alternative can be organising events during working hours, or even during extended lunch breaks can be a good alternative.
“Staff quizzes, employee-voted employee of the month awards or even a funded lunch within the office can be ways of giving staff something to look forward to. Another survey we recently conducted found that 1 in 10 office workers wish their employer would provide more catered lunch breaks, something that employers could consider as part of a festive or regular way of rewarding staff.”