Small & medium businesses fret about the expectations of staff at Christmas
11 December 2019
A new study by Intuit Quickbooks has revealed that many small and medium business owners spend higher amounts per head on employees at the Christmas party than required as they are worried about staff expectations at Christmas time.
The research highlighted that the average employee would be satisfied with a company contribution of £40 per head to the Christmas party but that the average employer believes that the spend should be £52 a head, which is significantly higher. In fact, seven out of ten, or 70%, of small businesses were worried about expectations being too high but it seems that it is actually employers who are the ones placing high expectations on themselves.
The reality is that the creation of a festive environment at work is of equal importance to staff as the event of the Christmas party itself and this can be achieved on a much smaller budget, for example by decorating the office or playing Christmas music. This should allay some of the fears of small and medium businesses in relation to cash flow at Christmas, as four out of five employees confirmed that their work surroundings were what made them feel more upbeat about their job.
The HR leader at Intuit Quickbooks commented:
“It is so important at this point in the year for everyone – bosses and workers alike – to find time to relax and recharge.
For the bosses worrying about balancing their cash flow against employee expectations - hopefully reading this will help at least some of you rest a little easier tonight.
When push comes to shove, bosses can focus on the little things – like Christmas decorations, music and flexible working – to keep a happy workforce this Christmas, rather than worrying about putting on the nation’s best Christmas party.
But in case there was any doubt of the value of treating your employees right, the picture painted by today’s research couldn’t be clearer. Invest in rewarding your employees for a year’s hard work, and they’ll reward you and your business with another year of loyalty, effort and positivity.
For the bosses who are stressed about this time of year – it doesn’t need to be this way. Start by facing your financial fears and making an honest assessment of what you can afford to spend. Then have an open conversation with your employees about it. For a significant chunk of employees, doing nothing more than having an open conversation will make them feel much more positive about you and the business.”
In organisations with less than ten staff, only 50% would host a Christmas party, in comparison to 70% in other larger businesses that are still defined as being small. The reluctance to throw a Christmas party is influenced by staff opinion about what is acceptable the following day – three-quarters of workers have no qualms about turning up to work late the following day and one in ten actually think that they can skip work all together and not face any consequences. The smaller the company, the bigger the impact of one or some of the workforce not attending work so the responses are understandable.
The dilemma of wanting to motivate staff at Christmas by offering great perks but ensuring that there are sufficient funds to do so means that three in ten bosses experience feelings of stress over the festive period and four out of five confirm that cash flow is of the highest concern.
Information provided in this news article may be subject to change. Please make note of the date of publication to ensure that you are viewing up to date information.