KEY POINTS:
I used to work for a firm that always gave a gift for Christmas - be it a ham, some wine, a hamper, something like that," says Suzanne who works in Auckland. "It was great."
Now she works for a place that gives nothing at all.
"I must
say although what a company does for Christmas wouldn't dictate whether I accept a job with them or not, at the end of the year I do feel a bit unloved where I work now. Especially when I see what some of my friends get from their companies.
"I think not marking Christmas is an indication that a company sees its employees as cogs in the machinery or something - it certainly doesn't give one the feeling that the company appreciates what you've done all year."
Auckland's Dr Stress John McEwan, an ACC registered counsellor in stress related disorders, says a gift or bonus from the company at Christmas, from a stress perspective, is a good thing.
"People work because they feel valued, rather than just for the salary," McEwan says.
"Consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs - first are the physical needs, but there is also a soul-based need to be recognised and appreciated. And in a company the executives are the best people to show approval, affirmation and acceptance."
McEwan says that he doesn't feel fixing bonuses to company profits is all a company should do. "Giving something at Christmas shows value and appreciation - even if the company has been hammered by an oil crisis in the Middle East or something beyond employee's control."
An employer who wants to send the right message has to give a thoughtful gift that shows something real, not fake. It has to give an employee a sense that he or she is appreciated.
"People have a short fuse for fake," McEwan says. "A gift can really backfire if it turns out to be a cheap trick or a bribe. It should be something the staff can appreciate, that is backed by some thought - the cost is not the issue.
"Something that can be used or worn is best."
One company that makes a point of giving Christmas gifts to staff is Amcor Kiwi Packaging.
Its operations manager Euan Mcleish says: "It's a bit of a thank you for the work during the year."
He says usually each of the three company sites will get a different gift.
"We try to link it with some achievement of the site within the past few months - and we name that achievement, be it waste reduction or something like that. It's a show of appreciation."
The gifts the company gives could be a bottle of wine or a ham.
"Foodstuffs goes down well, particularly in Auckland," he says. "We also try and get the gifts from our suppliers - that's good for business too."
Mcleish says he thinks Christmas gifts are important, as it is a significant, historical time of the year that people use to reflect on achievements and look ahead to the New Year.
Small business owner Stephen Thompson of Verrans Espresso and Verbena says he gives staff chocolates and bubbly for Christmas and he hosts a staff party.
"We have a staff of casuals and permanent employees of about 26. We're a family business and we like to treat our staff as part of the family.
"It's nice to do something - the staff work hard all year and it's a way for us just to say 'thank you'.
"I do feel we get appreciation for what we do - and it makes us feel good."
If companies expect some sort of payback for their goodwill gifts, they must think again, says professor of management and head of the department of management at Auckland Business School Marie Wilson.
"For a gift you may get personal reciprocity, not employment reciprocity. Research shows gifts at Christmas do not make people work harder. They're not an exchange you have with your boss.
"Things that do work as exchanges are flexibility or opportunities in the job. Gifts are given freely and should not be given with anything else in mind."
She says it can be good to show appreciation - but this can only enhance performance if it's done when something happens, when an employee does something well. Giving a gift at Christmas for something that happened in April does not help at all.
"A nice Christmas gift is not going to make an employee work harder in January. In fact employees often just see it as something you get at that company. It becomes an entitlement."
Wilson says she has never known anyone who has left a company because of the Christmas party or gift.
"It becomes something that's expected and doesn't differentiate between employees' performances,"he says.
"It's not that Christmas gifts and parties aren't nice - but they won't increase performance or affect turnover. It's great if a company does something for staff and says 'you're like family'. But it's so rare that employees get together, often a Christmas party can be too little too late.
"Some companies do other things for Christmas - such as give employees a day off for shopping or encourage employees to take on a charity project en masse, increasing community involvement. This may help to reinforce shared values.
"If a company does give a gift, it should think of what the workforce would really want."
But mostly Wilson says: "Don't wait until the end of the year to appreciate achievements. If you do that, you've failed - it can be 11 months too late. Also a tacky gift is not a good thing - if the company has a gift policy, every manager should be responsible and work out what's meaningful."
However, contrary to giving a gift, McEwan says unfortunately there's something significant about Christmas that makes many employers roll out their redundancies before the holidays.
"I'm not sure why so many companies use this time to do this - but it adds a great deal of stress on to the holiday period."
