Employers working in the health and social care sector should not use the recession as an excuse for failing to acknowledge the efforts of their employees over the festive period, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has warned.
In a survey of 135 health and social care managers conducted by the CMI, 68% said the office Christmas party is vital to recognise the hard work of staff undertaken throughout the year. Two-thirds (66%) also believe end-of-year celebrations should continue in spite of the recession.
However, the research also discovered that many thought the Christmas celebration needn’t be extravagant: half of managers surveyed believe a team lunch is better than an organisation-wide party.
Commenting on the findings, Ruth Spellman, CMI Chief Executive, said: “There are too many examples showing that the poor quality of management and leadership in the UK lies at the heart of the disengaged workforce.
“The benefits of employee engagement cannot be overstated. A truly engaged organisation can expect to experience high levels of staff loyalty, retention, productivity, innovation and profitability as well as low levels of absenteeism.
“Given the current economic climate these cannot be ignored as they are the stepping stones towards the future, long-term success of the health and social care sector.”
Almost three-quarters of survey respondents said a warm approach to Christmas was “good for staff morale”. This suggests that organisations will be going some way to improve a reported 42% decline in employee engagement caused by the recession – a figure highlighted in a CMI report published in Autumn 2009.
Your comments (terms and conditions apply):
“Yes. They do enchance staff morale. One thing I would like to ask is, how many organisations actually pay for their staff’s Christmas Party? We, as staff, have always paid for our Xmas do!” – Christine Lis, Worcs
