Workplace holiday parties may seem impossible this year, but they are more important than ever before. The pandemic has upset nearly all aspects of our lives, which is why we need to connect with each other and celebrate what we were able to accomplish together.

Having a virtual holiday party doesn’t need to be vastly different than your typical in-person holiday party; your organization’s traditions just need to be updated to better fit the current times. A simple Google search will provide you with hundreds of party ideas ranging from fully hosted virtual holiday parties to virtual holiday party games and activities.

Without the cost of traditional, in-person holiday parties, organizations are considering increasing the value of the holiday gift provided to employees or sending gift baskets to employees’ homes. According to ASE’s recently released 2021 Holiday Schedule & Practices Survey, nearly 6 out of 10 employers anticipate providing a gift to their staff, up from 50% last year. 14% of those gift-giving employers are planning on providing their staff with a holiday gift worth over $350, compared to only 8% in 2019.

Giving your employees the gift of time may be their most appreciated holiday gift, however. Taylor Paone, senior manager of employee experience and culture at DailyPay said "Recognizing that Zoom fatigue and the solitude of working remotely is an ongoing challenge, we must encourage staff to step back from the computer and spend time doing activities that re-energize and recharge them."

ASE members are eligible to download the results of the 2021 Holiday Schedule & Practices Survey at no cost from the ASE Dashboard. Non-members interested in obtaining copies of the results should contact the ASE Survey Team at [email protected] or 248.223.8053.

Source: American Society of Employers, SHRM, TeamBuilding.com