The holiday season brings a lot of expectations within our culture. One historical expectation is that employers should communicate their appreciation to their employees. Challenges arise from these expectations. On the one hand, if nothing is done, the employer (or manager) is seen as heartless and uncaring. If only a card is given (possibly with a small gift card), the employer could be viewed as stingy. Giving every employee a substantial gift is probably not financially feasible or even appropriate. So what are employers and managers to do? Hear some practical suggestions for dos and don’ts during the holidays (along with the results from our survey of more than 1,200 respondents), and some ways to make whatever you choose to do be received more positively.

Learning Objectives:

As a result of participating in this session, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand the importance of expectations (and the historical context that creates them regarding gifts and appreciation in the workplace around the holidays).

2. Avoid well-known mistakes that employers commonly make when trying to communicate appreciation to their staff (and what employees say they don’t like during the holidays).

3. Use foundational guiding principles to make decisions regarding holiday gifts and parties that will help the actions and events be received more positively.