When It Comes To Workplace Incentives, Employees Prefer Gift Cards  

Gift cards are becoming a popular employee incentive, Fiserv Inc.’s “Q4 2023 Gift Card Survey” finds. Some 80% of respondents say they would prefer a gift card as a reward from their employer, while 9% say they would prefer an event or outing, and 11% would prefer some other type of incentive as a reward. Overall, 86% of respondents say they feel gift cards make a great workplace gift or incentive.

Fiserv surveyed more than 1,000 consumers 18 and older in the United States during September. The financial-services technology company conducts the survey on a quarterly basis.

The leading reason employees prefer gift cards as a reward or incentive is that the cards allow them to purchase what they want (77%). Other major reasons include: they aren’t taxed like payroll-based bonuses (43%); and they are a creative way to give monetary-based incentives (42%). Respondents could cite more than one reason.

When it comes to the value of the gift card given as an employee reward, 23% of respondents felt that $41 to $50 is an appropriate amount, up from 19% during the same period in 2022, while 22% felt that $21 to $30 is an appropriate amount, up slightly from 21% in 2022, and 34% felt that more than $50 was an appropriate amount, down from 38% in 2022.

Many employees are basing their decision to work for an employer or stay with an employer based on whether the employer provides gifts and incentives to motivate employees, the survey says. When asked whether receiving gifts and incentives impacts their decision to work for a potential employer, 35% said yes.

When asked whether receiving gifts and incentives makes them want to continue working for their employer, 30% said yes. In addition, 22% of respondents said they have changed jobs in the past 12 months due to a lack of employee gifts and incentives. Among that group, 81% say their new employer provides more gifts and incentives than the previous employer. When asked whether receiving a gift or incentive makes them feel valued, 85% of respondents said yes.

Overall, some 61% of respondents say their company uses gifts and incentives to reward employees for good performance, a 22% increase from 2021. Other leading reasons employers provide gifts and incentives include work anniversaries and as a thank you for an employee’s effort.