Workers Want Cash, Get Team Lunches: What Zety's 2026 Holiday Gifting Survey Means for Year-End Rewards
A survey of 1,040 U.S. workers published on November 9 by the career site Zety puts numbers on a mismatch most HR teams suspect but rarely measure. Three of the five perks employers hand out most at the holidays โ parties, team meals and branded merchandise โ are among the ones workers want least. Cash is wanted by more than twice as many people as receive it. And the pressure people feel in December comes as much from colleagues as from the company.
What Zety asked, and who answered
Zety, which makes resume-building software, ran the survey on October 19, 2026 through the Pollfish panel and released it on PR Newswire on November 9. CPA Practice Advisor republished the findings on November 11 with the same figures. Respondents were 64% female, 35% male and 1% nonbinary; by generation, 26% Gen Z, 28% Millennials, 28% Gen X and 18% Baby Boomers. The release does not say whether results were weighted, so the female skew is worth keeping in mind. Unlike most holiday-gifting surveys we covered in October, this one does not come from a company that sells gifts.
Where holiday perks miss
The most useful question asked workers what they typically receive at the holidays and, separately, what they would most like. People could pick more than one answer, so columns do not add to 100%. The last column is our own subtraction.
| Perk | Typically receive | Would most like | Gap (points, derived) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash bonus | 34% | 77% | +43 |
| Additional PTO | 8% | 24% | +16 |
| Flexible work hours | 10% | 13% | +3 |
| Gift card | 39% | 39% | 0 |
| Non-company-branded gift | 8% | 6% | โ2 |
| Company-branded items | 15% | 5% | โ10 |
| Holiday party or celebration | 25% | 12% | โ13 |
| Team meal | 24% | 9% | โ15 |
Read as a budget, the three bottom rows are money spent on things fewer people asked for than received. Swag, parties and team meals are handed to 15โ25% of workers and wanted by 5โ12%. Gift cards sit exactly on the line: the most common perk received, and the second most wanted.
How much does a gift need to be worth?
Zety asked for the minimum value at which an employer gift would feel meaningful. The single most common answer was $50โ$99, chosen by 26%. Under $50 drew 17%, $100โ$199 drew 22%, $200โ$299 9%, $300โ$399 3%, $400โ$499 2% and $500 or more 8%; 13% said value would not decide it. Adding those bands ourselves: 43% would be satisfied below $100, and 44% need $100 or more. The release text also mentions โ$55โ$99โ in one place, which conflicts with its own answer list; CPA Practice Advisor noted the same inconsistency. We use the $50โ$99 band shown in the answer options.
Asked what a holiday gift would do for them, 53% said they would feel more valued, 35% more motivated, 34% more satisfied with their job and 18% more loyal to their employer.
The pressure is sideways as well as top-down
The headline finding is about money workers spend, not receive. 43% say workplace holiday gift expectations cause them financial stress, and 35% have bought or chipped in for a manager's gift because they felt obligated. Asked who they felt obligated to buy for, 45% named a coworker, 35% a manager, 11% a direct report and 8% the CEO or head of the company. Zety's career expert Jasmine Escalera advises employers to set clear gifting guidelines and to say plainly that gifts are not expected, including collections organized by colleagues.
Quick questions
Is 77% wanting cash a reason to drop gift cards? Not on its own. The question let people pick several perks, so many of the 77% also chose something else, and the 39% who want a gift card is unchanged from the 39% who get one. Cash is the preference with the biggest unmet demand; gift cards are the one where supply already meets demand.
Does this tell me what my own employees want? It tells you which questions to ask. A one-day panel of 1,040 people, mostly women, is a direction, not a benchmark. A two-question pulse to your own staff before you order anything will beat it.
Is the 53% who expect nothing good or bad news? Both. It means a gift still surprises half the workforce, and it means a skipped gift will not shock many people. The 53% who say a gift would make them feel more valued suggests the surprise is worth something.
What to change before December
- Move money out of the negative-gap rows. If your holiday budget is mostly party, team meal and swag, those are the perks with 10โ15 more points of supply than demand in this survey. Shifting part of it to a reward people choose themselves lines up with what they asked for.
- Size the gift at $50โ$99 or explain why not. That band was the most common minimum for a gift to feel meaningful. Below $50, you are in the band only 17% picked. Our holiday and year-end bonus statistics show what other employers budget.
- Let people pick the brand. A reward catalog keeps the gift-card format workers already value while removing the guesswork of choosing one store for everyone; for teams in several countries, see global rewards and our guide to rewarding remote teams across countries.
- Publish a no-obligation gifting note. With 35% buying for a manager out of obligation, a one-line policy that the company covers recognition and colleagues should not collect for gifts upward is cheap and directly answers the stress finding. Company-funded peer-to-peer recognition gives people a way to thank colleagues without spending their own money.
- Budget the tax, not just the face value. See how the IRS treats gift cards to employees before you set amounts.
Sources
- Zety, โMore Than 2 in 5 Say Workplace Holiday Gifting Expectations Cause Financial Stressโ, PR Newswire (November 9, 2026), the primary source. Methodology, demographics, all survey percentages and the employer-guidance comment from Jasmine Escalera. prnewswire.com
- Isaac M. O'Bannon, โ43% of Workers Say Holiday Workplace Gifting Causes Finance Stressโ, CPA Practice Advisor (November 11, 2026). Independent republication used to cross-check every figure, including the value bands. cpapracticeadvisor.com
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 15-B, โEmployer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefitsโ (for use in 2026), De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits. Treatment of cash, gift cards and holiday gifts. irs.gov
This article summarizes a published survey for general information. The tax note covers U.S. federal rules only and is not tax or legal advice; check state rules and your own payroll setup before changing how holiday rewards are paid.
About the author
Maciej has worked in the digital gift card and rewards industry for over 5 years. For this story he read Zety's November 9 press release and CPA Practice Advisor's November 11 coverage line by line, flagged the release's inconsistent value band, calculated the received-versus-wanted gaps and value-band totals himself, and checked the gift card tax point against IRS Publication 15-B.