B.C. employers are least likely in Canada to host holiday parties this year, according to a survey released this morning by BMO Bank of Montreal.
The survey found that just 51% of B.C. companies have plans for holiday parties, compared with 69% in the Atlantic provinces and a national average of 57%.
Richard Dendy, commercial banking area manager for BMO, said he was somewhat surprised at B.C. trailing the country for holiday parties.
“I would think perhaps on the West Coast we’re more aligned to what’s happening in the global economy and some uncertainty that’s happening there,” said Dendy. “And I’m also curious as to whether it speaks to our multicultural effect to some extent.
The survey found that, of B.C. companies hosting parties, 16% are planning to scale back from last year versus 4% that are planning more opulentevents. Nationally, BMO’s research indicates 17% of companies will scale back somewhat and 5% will spend more this year.
The survey also indicated that 60% of B.C. employees are slightly less likely than the national average (57%) to buy no presents for either co-workers or bosses.
In B.C. this year, 15% of employees had plans to buy presents for co-workers, 3% planned to give presents to their boss and 10% were buying presents for both.
Jenny Wagler
@JennyWagler_BIV