The King of Workplace Christmas Gifts – a handy guide

Christmas may be a time of peace and goodwill to all… but it can also be a period of stress that drives us up the wall.

Finding the right gifts for family and friends can be challenging enough but employers up and down the land face the same dilemma… what’s the best way to show appreciation for their staff at Christmas?

More to the point, if you are going to offer a gift to members of your team, should it be cash, a gift or something else?

Fortunately, Love2shop are the experts in workplace gifting and employee engagement, so we’ve got the lowdown on the pros and cons of every gift type to help you choose what’s right for your workforce.

What you give – and how you give it – is important. Why? Well, according to the Love2shop Employee Value Report 2023, 57% of UK workers – that’s 17.2m people – say their productivity increases when they feel valued.

It also found almost 90% of UK workers said if they were surprised by their employer with a multi-retailer gift card they would feel more valued, while more than 87% said spontaneous gifts from their employer gave them a feeling of value and recognition.

So, gifting your employees is unquestionably beneficial to your productivity and output. But how do you choose the right gift. Here’s our handy guide:

Cash

Pros: Giving people cash, usually through payroll, is simple and straightforward and requires little thought or planning. Keeping it simple in a complicated world can be appreciated.

Cons: Every penny you give is subject to tax and National Insurance, which will either make it a lot more expensive per head for your business or eat into the amount your employees receive.

It also lacks thought and imagination. It’s a gift given as a process, another line on the payslip. It can feel cold and transactional and any warmth it creates disappears as soon as it is spent.

Gift cards

Pros: In an age when we are used to paying for things with a swipe of a debit or credit card, a gift card is a convenient, portable and way to make gifting easy. Balances can be viewed online and digital e-gift cards can even be added to digital wallets to scan via smartphones.

Multi-retailer gift cards give the gift of choice so they can make their gift mean more and some brands offer personalisation options to add to the overall gift.

Cons: It’s important to maximise the presentation. Just handing over the card can make it feel like an afterthought. Also watch out for brands that reduce the value of cards on a monthly basis with ‘admin fees’. Find a gift card provider that will not give your employees any nasty surprises.

Physical gifts

Pros: Giving just the right gift to someone is very powerful. Showing you know someone and care about their interests and what they love shows an exceptional level of appreciation and is a significant motivator for people.

Cons: It can be hard enough to pick the right gift for a family member or close friend. Choosing the right gift for a colleague opens up a whole world of stress, especially if you are buying for multiple team members. It’s hard to really know people, especially as people tend to code-switch between the workplace and home. Getting it wrong can be just as powerful or memorable as getting it right.

And if you opt for the job lot of hampers, chocolates or bottles of wine, you might as well not bother, as that’s the impression they will get. Unless you’ve spent a lot, chances are they will use most of it as gifts for people they don’t really like.

Vouchers:

Pros: In a digital age vouchers are less popular than they once were. However, people the more mature members of your workforce may prefer them because they are familiar. Multi-retailer vouchers offer the flexibility of cash but have the more tangible feel of a thoughtful gift. They are easily redeemable and universally understood.

Cons: While older members of staff may love a paper voucher, younger ones may prefer a gift card that more easily fits in their purse or wallet, or even their phone case. They can also become easily damaged.

Gifting your employees is always a great idea, whichever type of gift you choose. With Christmas fast approaching, hopefully you are already sorted, but if not take a look at our Christmas reward options here.

Alternatively, contact our team here today to discuss how you can get your Love2shop gifts delivered in time for Christmas 2023.