A Look Out at Holiday Plans

Wondering whether your organization's holiday policies are in line with competitive norms? 

This time every year, Employers Association Inc. releases the results of its annual holiday survey.  Although this survey (which features the results of over 400 employers) is focused primarily on my home state of Minnesota, and although I realize that some regional holiday differences exist (for example, I had never heard of Casimir Pulaski day until I moved to Chicago), I thought the results would be of general interest to readers.

The following show the percent of responding employers who plan to be closed all day on the following holidays:

2008

• Christmas Eve (Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008) - 50.1%
• Christmas Day (Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008) - 98.4%
• Day after Christmas (Friday, Dec. 26, 2008) - 34.5%
• New Years Eve (Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008) - 16.3%

2009

• New Years Day (Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009) - 97.3%
• Day after New Years (Friday, Jan. 2, 2009) - 13.8%
• Martin Luther King (Monday, Jan. 19, 2009) - 8.2%
• President's Day (Monday, Feb. 16, 2009) - 10.0%
• Spring Holiday/Good Friday (Friday, April 10, 2009) - 19.6%
• Memorial Day (Monday, May 25, 2009) - 98.9%
• Day before Independence Day (Friday, July 3, 2009) - 84.4%
• (Business) Day after Independence Day (Monday, July 6, 2009) - 6.7%
• Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 7, 2009) - 98.0%
• Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 12, 2009) - 2.2%
• Veteran's Day (Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009) - 3.8%
• Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009) - 99.1%
• Day after Thanksgiving (Friday, Nov. 27, 2009) - 77.3%
• Christmas Eve (Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009) - 62.1%
• Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25, 2009) - 95.8%

Image: Creative Commons Photo "Happy Holidays from me and this dog" by Zach Klein

Comments

[Tom]

Speaking of obscure regional holidays, I've had requests that we close on Dyngus Day.

http://www.dyngusdaybuffalo.com/

[Ann Bares]

Tom:

That's another new one on me. Here's to obscure regional holidays - at least that's one thing we haven't completely homogenized across the country. Yet.

Thanks for the comment!