Employment Decisions: The Holiday Bonus - Blessing or Bomb
Posted on Thu, Dec 16, 2010
By Koleen Singerline
The end of the year is fast approaching and many managers are busy trying to keep the push on and finish the year on a high note. Our government is in hot debate over unemployment
benefits – should we continue the lengthy unemployment payouts into 2011 while we wait for the economy to pick up, or are we just plain out of money? Well that’s a big question, but most likely you’re facing a similar internal debate of your own; if your company is continuing to struggle, what do you do about Holiday Bonuses?
The holiday bonus seems to have evolved from a combination of a gift for Christmas to celebrate “good will”, a reward for going above and beyond in one’s work and compensation for the demands of the holiday schedule on workers in retail settings.
Citing The New York Times, “...it is reported that Woolworth’s first Christmas cash bonus to employees in 1899 ($5 for each year of service, with a limit of $25) was meant to match competitors’ higher wages and avoid a salesgirls’ strike. It was probably also a cheaper way to pay overtime.”
Over the years, the holiday bonus went from an unexpected gift to an expectation or entitlement, and many workers were focused on ways to spend the extra cash that would come their way. Fast forward to 2008 and the Great Recession and most of us have learned to look at almost everything in business and adjust our expectations. We have realized we are not really “entitled” to anything.
Many small business owners agonize over the holiday bonus and what they should give. If they give too much, it could jeopardize the finances of the business with so many bills coming due at the beginning of the year. If they give too little, they could be seen as Scrooge and employees might interpret it as a lack of appreciation for their hard work.
Employees may dwell on it as well. If they don’t get a bonus, does that mean the boss doesn’t think they are doing a good job? If a spouse or friend gets a bigger bonus, does that mean their boss likes them better?
Maybe we are all giving the bonus too much power; letting our emotions cloud our thinking and cause us to lose site of reality. The fact is that we’re just coming out of the Great Recession and most companies have cut all sorts of expenses to survive. The holiday bonus will not escape these cuts.
For the third year in a row, more than two-thirds of the employers surveyed by Hewitt Associates in their annual "Holiday Bonus and Gift Study," state that they will not offer any type of holiday bonus (including cash, food, or gifts).
Maybe Dr. Hansen, career expert, has it right: “Because of the impact of the economy and a focus on efficiency and productivity, many workers may need to be satisfied this year-end with simply still having a job with the company.”
No holiday bonus may not mean your boss doesn’t like you – in fact, if you still have a job, he probably likes you a lot.
Regardless of how you come out on the issue of holiday bonuses, if you give or get one or not, as we reach the end of the year, here are some “bonuses” we all have:
- We have the bonus of employees that are dedicated to their work and striving to move past the struggles of everyday business.
- We have the bonus of employers that put up with some of the inconsistencies of our work, caused by our distraction with spouses, kids and the other “mixed blessings” of life.
- We have the incredible bonus of living in a country where we can choose our career path and what company we want to pursue it with.
