Survey: Most Workers Plan On Spending Under $250 On Gifts This Holiday

December is a busy time of year for workers, both professionally and personally.

In the workplace, there are end of the year performance reviews, company holiday parties, and maybe, if they’re lucky a nice, fat Christmas bonus.

On a personal level, they are navigating hectic holiday planning and gift buying.

Curious to see how these holiday traditions are holding up in the middle of a pandemic, we surveyed just under 2,000 workers.

The results? Gift buying is a little subdued this year, and many workers aren’t optimistic about traditional holiday perks.

You can see a more in-depth breakdown of our findings below.

Key Findings

Other Findings

• Just 1% of workers plan on spending over $2,000 on gifts this year
• Overall, 90% of those surveyed said they will spend less than $1,000 on gifts
• Who are they spending the most on? The children in their lives, followed closely by their significant others
• 1-in-4 workers get Christmas Eve and Christmas as paid time off
• Only 13% of workers expect to receive a cash money bonus
• Another 5% expect a gift card or other reward
• That 5% is particularly unfortunate, because overwhelmingly the preferred bonus by employees is cash
• Sorry Zoom, only 6% of those surveyed are attending a virtual work holiday party

How We Determined This

Zippia.com, a career resource website, conducted a study of 1,900 workers across the US to better understand what this holiday season looks like for workers.

Each respondent was asked the same series of questions and recruited through Clickworker, a leading survey platform.

The “how much will you spend on Christmas gifts” number featured on the map is the most common response received.

What Is Happening To Work Holiday Parties In 2020?

For the vast majority of workers (70%), holiday parties are a no-go this year.

This isn’t new for 16% of workers, whose companies never do holiday celebrations.

While 9% are throwing parties as usual, another 6% are doing Zoom or other virtual holiday parties. Hopefully, alcohol is included– it might make all the “Is my mic on” and “You’re on mute”s more bearable.

Will workplaces use some of that extra cash to plump employees wallets? Judging from the fact that only 13% of workers expect to receive a cash money, probably not.

Yes, Employees Want Cash Bonuses Above All Else

Gift cards, Honey Baked Hams, and plaques of accomplishment are nice. But it doesn’t mean you should give it to all your employees.

If you’re looking to acknowledge your employees’ hard work, try good, old fashioned cash. It’s always the right size and color, and unlike gift cards can be spent literally everywhere.

Here’s To Happy Holidays- Even With Insufficient Time Off, Cancelled Celebrations, And No Bonuses

It’s been a rough year. Undoubtedly many workers are disappointed by cancelled celebrations and other stressors during this usually jolly time.

While for some a lack of holiday bonus might be due to financial hardships their company is suffering from Covid, for others it might just be same old, same old.

However, don’t let the disappointment bog you down. After all, if you’re sick of that Honey Baked Ham, you can always start job hunting for a place that gives out generous bonuses and other perks.

I know just the job search site to get you started. Hint: You’re already on it.

This could be the year you get the job of your dreams.

How much will you spend on Christmas gifts?

Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.