’Tis the season to don whatever outfit looks best under fluorescent strip lights, get unprofessionally tipsy, and rock up to your Friday morning meeting with a headache from Hades.
That’s right, folks: it’s Christmas party season.
For all its flaws, I’m still a defender of the holiday hoolie.
But according to a recent poll from small business credit card provider Capital on Tap, I might be in the minority.
Their survey, which involved 2,000 UK workers, found that just under 90% (89.4%) would swap their office’s festive function for something else.
What do workers wish they got instead of office parties?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, amidst a cost-of-living crisis and wage stagnation, a majority of respondents (over half) said they’d rather have cash than a Christmas party.
Second-highest on the list was extra annual leave (again, this might not be the world’s biggest shock, given that over one in three UK workers are believed to be experiencing burnout).
Others wanted a gift card, while some said they’d prefer an office-hours team lunch over a post-5pm party.
And just under 13% said they’d rather their team were simply given the same funds to plan their own party.
A little more than 11% of respondents said they’d rather the money went to charitable causes, and almost 8% would rather the moolah was spent on a processional development kitty.
In order, the most popular substitution options were:
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Cash bonus – 53.8%
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Extra annual leave – 35.1%
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Gift card – 28.9%
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High-quality company gift – 21.3%
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Team lunch instead of a party – 16.7%
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Wellbeing voucher (gym, spa, therapy) – 13.5%
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Team budget to plan own celebration – 12.8%
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Donation to charity – 11.3%
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Contribution to professional development fund – 7.7%.
All in, only 10.6% said they’d rather keep the party.
“While a company Christmas party may be ‘nice to have’, the research reflects a clear message to businesses who may be using a festive celebration as a way to reward employees,” Capital on Tap said in a press release.
“It seems staff would much rather have something meaningful and tangible to help feel a sense of appreciation.”
