Why is December a great time to hand out staff bonuses?

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Why is December a good time to hand out staff bonuses?

New research finds that the key to preventing New Year staff departures may be a December bonus.

According to the survey of 1,096 UK employees carried out by a bonus and incentives provider, bosses who give out bonuses in December are less likely to see staff being poached or looking elsewhere.

Almost one in two workers (46 per cent) said having received a bonus or gift from their boss recently would prevent them from looking for a new job.
And almost the same number (45 per cent) would be less likely to accept a new job if offered one, if the same had happened. And with workers being more likely to look for a new job in January than any other month of the year, December bonuses couldn’t be timed better for staff retention purposes.

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What’s more, happily, the research revealed that workers welcome receiving a bonus from their employer more in December than at any other time of the year.

Alan Smith, UK managing director at One4all Rewards, said,

It’s interesting to see just how far a token bonus can impact on workers’ loyalty to their employer. Even if you just consider the amount of money that can be lost through recruitment costs when a member of staff resigns – never mind the softer negative impacts and knock-on effects that employees leaving can have, in terms of morale in the workplace – it is clearly something that is worth investing in.

And thanks to HM Revenue and Customs’ recent introduction of tax exemptions on trivial benefits of £50 per employee or less, it has never been more affordable for businesses to gift staff a little something to make sure they feel valued, ahead of the busiest time of the year for staff departures.

Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!

Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.

Aphrodite is also a professional painter.

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