Bah Humbug! Survey Reveals Americans Aren't in the Giving Spirit in the Workplace This Holiday Season

ATLANTA, Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- American workers have made their lists and checked them twice, and one group of people who didn't make the cut for gifts this year is workplace colleagues. According to national staffing company Spherion's "WorkSphere" survey, conducted online by Harris Poll among more than 873 U.S. adults employed full/part-time in November, a majority of American workers don't plan to give gifts to their co-workers (56 percent), boss (59 percent) or other colleagues (61 percent).

Nearly half of workers who aren't planning to buy gifts for anyone at work for reasons other than money (43 percent) don't want to because they feel they would have to buy something for everyone and they consider that to be "too much." More than a quarter of these workers (28 percent) say they don't know their co-workers well enough to buy them gifts. And, about one-in-four (23 percent) report they don't plan to buy gifts for others because they don't want to appear as though they are trying to gain favoritism.

"The holiday season in the workplace can be tricky, as everyone has varying expectations on gift-giving and what's appropriate," said Sandy Mazur, Spherion Division President. "Employers should keep in mind that not all workers, or their bosses, are going to want to buy gifts, but that doesn't make either party a Scrooge or Grinch. It just means that gift-giving continues to be a personal choice for workers and they shouldn't feel forced or obliged to do so in the workplace."

And while workers who plan to give colleagues gifts are in the minority, the proportion of workers who are planning to give gifts to those who report to them doubled this year (18 percent) over last year (9 percent). And a higher percentage of workers plan on giving gifts to their bosses this year (34 percent) compared to 2013 (27 percent). This year, 19 percent of employees cite having more money available for holiday spending this year as the reason they're planning to spend more on gifts this year.

Other survey findings for 2014 include:

The Cost of Buying Gifts for Colleagues in the Workplace

• When workers plan to buy gifts for others in the workplace, they plan to spend big. Workers who plan to buy holiday gifts this year will spend an average of $67 to buy gifts for their co-workers/peers. Workers with direct reports will spend an average of $66 on them, and workers plan to spend an average of $54 on their boss's gifts and $50 on other colleagues.

The Perception of Gift-Giving in the Workplace

• Though most workers don't expect a gift from their boss and it doesn't matter to them (59 percent), other workers believe that when they don't receive a gift from the head honcho, their boss is cheap (14 percent), they aren't a part of the "inner circle" (8 percent) or their boss doesn't value the work that they do (7 percent).

The Need for Seasonal Work

• Nearly one-in-five workers (18 percent) plan on taking seasonal work this holiday season as a second/additional job. Of these, most will look for seasonal employment with a retailer (40 percent), while others will make items to sell (19 percent), pursue odd jobs (15 percent) or find a temporary job with a staffing firm (14 percent).

Vacationing Around the Holidays

• Almost one-fifth of workers (19 percent) don't plan to take any paid days off around the holidays. Some of the reasons cited included that they can't financially afford to take time off (5 percent), their employer won't allow them to (4 percent) and there's too much work to be done (3 percent).
• Of those workers who have paid time off, 30 percent will lose at least two paid days off because they are unable to take them before the end of the year. Six percent will lose more than 5 days.

Methodology 
The 2014 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Spherion from November 19-21, 2014 among 2,013 adults ages 18 and older, among which 873 are employed FT/PT. The 2013 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Spherion from November 22-26, 2013 among 2,033 adults age 18 and older, among which 970 are employed FT/PT. These online surveys are not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Erica Smith at 404-870-6843.

About Spherion
Spherion Staffing Services is a leading recruiting and staffing provider that specializes in placing administrative, clerical, customer service and light industrial candidates in temporary and full-time opportunities. As an industry pioneer for more than 68 years, Spherion has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in virtually every industry through a network of offices across the United States. Spherion offers companies a unique combination of personalized customer service backed by the resources, knowledge and geographic breadth of a $2 billion dollar workforce leader. Last year we helped more than 3,000 clients find the right talent to meet their workforce goals. Each local office is individually owned and operated by a team of staffing specialists who are known throughout the community, well-acquainted with your business and supported by a strong network of talent. As one of the fastest growing industries, Spherion is actively expanding into new territories, with more than 75 franchise markets available. To inquire, visit www.spherion.com/franchise. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com.

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SOURCE Spherion

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