In its annual survey of HR professionals on holiday parties, leading global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. found a slight uptick in office fetes over 2013. About three-quarters of respondents indicated their party budgets would not increase over last year's.
Eighteen percent reported that they are spending less this year; that's down from 29% a year ago. Challenger's research indicates a lot of companies still reeling from the Great Recession and more concerned with preserving jobs than with making merry.
CEO John Challenger cited New York and the tech-heavy West Coast as outliers in terms of celebrations in 2014, as the opposite coasts have recovered somewhat faster than other regions.
That said, more than half the companies surveyed opted for on-site parties this year, which a lot of employees have come to prefer. One North American unit of a European-based manufacturer decided to forego an office party altogether and gave its staffers $100 gift cards and a half-day off to do their holiday shopping instead.
Post-downturn frugality is clearly still on corporate minds. For readers still in the throes of holiday-party mode, t
he attached includes some handy tips for making the most of the season's workplace offerings.