Fewer Cash Bonuses; More Time Off
By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 11/22/2006 10:59:00 AM
New York — Fewer small business owners will give staff bonuses this holiday, but more will give time off. According to the OPEN from American Express Small Business Monitor, a semi- annual survey of business owners, only 47 percent will hand out bonuses, compared with 54 percent in 2005.
The number of businesses planning to give time off rose 8 percent to 55 percent. Time off and bonuses vary by region, with the Northeast leading in bonuses at 60 percent, while the South leads in time off at 68 percent.
This year’s average holiday gift budget for clients and customers remained virtually unchanged at $1,065. As for what that money’s being spent on, cards and calendars still top the shopping list at 48 percent. Gift certificates for retail or restaurants come in at 29 percent, followed by unique company branded or monogrammed items at 24 percent, fruit/food baskets at 22 percent, donations to a charity on clients' behalf at 19 percent, and flowers/plants and wine/liquor tied at 7 percent.
Two other growing trends: the gift of good health, with 71 percent spending on health benefits for employees compared with 54 percent last year, and giving back: 26 percent will ask their staff to take part in a volunteer activity as a group this holiday, up from last year’s 16 percent.
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