News Releases
- 57 per cent of employers will be hosting an employee holiday party
- 21 per cent of Canadians will be purchasing gifts for co-workers, and
- 6 per cent will be buying a gift just for their boss
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 13, 2011) - Despite economic challenges, more than half of working Canadians say their boss will be more of a Santa than a Scrooge when it comes to hosting a holiday party. However, the boss will not find much under the tree from employees, according to a new BMO holiday survey.
BMO's Commercial Banking Holiday Survey revealed that for 57 per cent of working Canadians, their employer will be hosting a holiday party. Regionally, employers in the Atlantic Provinces are most likely to host a celebration for their employees (69 per cent) compared to those in Ontario (52 per cent) and BC (51 per cent).
| Employer Hosting a Holiday Party | |||||||
| National | ATL | QC | ON | MB/SK | AB | BC | |
| Yes | 57% | 69% | 61% | 52% | 68% | 64% | 51% |
| No | 35% | 27% | 30% | 39% | 25% | 36% | 45% |
| Don't know | 7% | 4% | 9% | 10% | 7% | - | 4% |
Of those who indicate that their boss will be throwing a holiday party, 69 per cent say it will be as generous as last year, and close to one in five say it will be scaled back from last year. Nationally, only five per cent believe that their holiday party will be more generous than last year.
| More or Less Generous Party than Last Year? | |||||||
| National | ATL | QC | ON | MB/SK | AB | BC | |
| It will be more generous compared to last year | 5% | - | 5% | 7% | 6% | 5% | 4% |
| It will be scaled back compared to last year | 17% | 12% | 14% | 21% | 10% | 25% | 16% |
| It will be the same as last year | 69% | 70% | 73% | 64% | 78% | 59% | 74% |
| I don't know | 9% | 18% | 9% | 9% | 6% | 11% | 5% |
"This holiday season, while businesses are faced with a great deal of global economic uncertainty, it is encouraging to see that employers are willing to recognize the contribution of their employees and celebrate the successes of the year," said Cathy Pin, Vice-President, BMO Commercial Banking. "This survey, in many ways, also reaffirms what we are seeing from employers across the country - that they are investing in their people and their businesses, but are doing so in a measured and very deliberate way as they adapt to the new dynamics of the business environment."
The BMO Bank of Montreal Survey, conducted by Leger Marketing, also found that 57 per cent of working Canadians do not plan on purchasing gifts for their co-workers or their boss this year. Of those who do plan to make purchases, one in five (21 per cent) say they will be buying gifts just for their co-workers and only six per cent say they will buy a gift just for their boss.
| Gifts for Co-Workers and/or the Boss? | |||||||
| National | ATL | QC | ON | MB/SK | AB | BC | |
| Co- workers | 21% | 27% | 26% | 21% | 10% | 22% | 15% |
| Both | 10% | 5% | 8% | 12% | 7% | 10% | 10% |
| Boss | 6% | 15% | 4% | 8% | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| I will not be purchasing gifts | 57% | 52% | 55% | 55% | 71% | 65% | 60% |
BMO's Commercial Banking Holiday Survey was completed online from December 5-8, 2011, using Leger Marketing's online panel, LegerWeb, with a sample of 1542 Canadians. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/-2.5 per cent 19 times out of 20.
(416) 867-3996
paul.cunliffe@bmo.com
Sarah Bensadoun, Montreal
(514) 877-1101
sarah.bensadoun@bmo.com
Laurie Grant, Vancouver
(604) 665-7596
laurie.grant@bmo.com