Shrm 2015-holiday-schedules

SHRM Survey Findings: 2015 Holiday Schedules
November 10, 2014

In this survey, a floating holiday is defined as a holiday that provides an employee paid time off to
observe a holiday not observed by the organization. For example, employees receive a paid day off (in
addition to paid holidays or vacation days) to take when they wish, such as on their birthday or on
another holiday that is not a scheduled holiday for the organization.
2015 Holiday Schedules ©SHRM 2014 2
Definitions

• Which 2015 holidays will most organizations observe by closing their offices? The 2015 holidays
that most organizations (94-97%) will observe are:
» New Year’s Day (Thursday, January 1)
» Memorial Day (Monday, May 25)
» Labor Day (Monday, September 7)
» Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 26)
» Christmas Day (Friday, December 25)
• Which religious holidays in 2015 will most organizations observe? Overall, few organizations close
their offices on religious holidays, with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: in 2015,
47% of organizations will be closed on Christmas Eve and 97% will be closed on Christmas Day.
The next most common religious holiday for which some organizations will be closed is Good
Friday (28%).
• Does your organization offer floating holidays (other than personal days and paid holidays) to
employees? Just over one-third (36%) of organizations reported offering “floating holidays” to
employees. Of those that do offer these holidays, 72% offer 1-2 floating holidays a year.
Key Findings

Percentage of Organizations Offering Paid Holidays to Employees
Part-time employees
Full-time employees
No
2%
n = 490
Yes
56%
No
44%
Yes
98%
n = 473

Number of Paid Holidays Organizations Offer Annually
(if this benefit is provided)
On average, organizations that provide the benefit
offer 9 paid holidays to full- and part-time employees.
Note: Excludes floating holidays. Only respondents whose organizations offered paid holidays to the respective employee group were asked this
question. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
2%
11% 11%
15% 15%
21%
12%
7%
6%
8%
13%
11%
13% 13%
22%
10%
6%
5%
1-5 days 6 days 7 days 8 days 9 days 10 days 11 days 12 days 13+ days
Full-time employees
(n = 481)
Part-time employees
(n = 263)

Floating Holidays
Number of floating holidays
Organizations offering
floating holidays
Yes
36%
No
64%
Note: n = 489. Excludes personal days and paid holidays.
43%
29%
14%
9%
5%
1 day
2 days
3 days
4 days
5+ days
offered to
full-time employees annually
n = 173

Organizations’ Operating Status on Weekends
n = 488
23%
9%
1%
67%
Open on Saturday and Sunday
Only open on Saturday
Only open on Sunday
Not open on weekends
One-third of organizations
(33%) are typically open
for business on at least
one weekend day.

2015 Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: January - May
2015 Holiday, January-May Closed Close Early Remain Open
New Year’s Day: Thursday, January 1 95% < 1% 4%
Day after New Year’s Day: Friday, January 2 16% 2% 82%
MLK Jr’s birthday: Monday, January 19 37% 0% 63%
President’s Day: Monday, February 16 35% 0% 65%
Ash Wednesday: Wednesday, February 18 0% < 1% 100%
Chinese & Vietnamese New Year: Thursday, February 19 0% 0% 100%
Good Friday: Friday, April 3 28% 5% 67%
Beginning of Passover: Saturday, April 4 3% 0% 97%
Easter Monday: Monday, April 6 5% < 1% 95%
Friday before Memorial Day: Friday, May 22 4% 12% 85%
Shavuot: Sunday, May 24 3% 0% 97%
Memorial Day: Monday, May 25 94% 1% 5%
Note: n = 96-483. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. For
holidays that fall on a weekend, analysis includes only respondents whose organizations are regularly open for business on Saturday or Sunday.

2015 Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: June - October
2015 Holiday, June-October Closed Close Early Remain Open
First day of Ramadan: Thursday, June 18 < 1% 0% 100%
Day before Independence Day: Friday, July 3 60% 8% 33%
Independence Day: Saturday, July 4 76% 1% 23%
Monday after Independence Day: Monday, July 6 6% < 1% 94%
Friday before Labor Day: Friday, September 4 1% 12% 87%
Labor Day: Monday, September 7 95% < 1% 5%
Rosh Hashanah: Monday, September 14 < 1% < 1% 99%
Yom Kippur: Wednesday, September 23 < 1% < 1% 100%
Eid al-Adha/Festival of Sacrifice: Thursday, September 24 0% < 1% 100%
Sukkot: Monday, September 28 0% < 1% 100%
Columbus Day: Monday, October 12 16% < 1% 84%

2015 Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: November - December
2015 Holiday, November-December Closed Close Early Remain Open
Diwali: Wednesday, November 11 0% < 1% 100%
Veterans Day: Wednesday, November 11 20% 1% 79%
Day before Thanksgiving: Wednesday, November 25 6% 20% 74%
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 26 97% 1% 2%
Day after Thanksgiving: Friday, November 27 76% 1% 23%
First day of Chanukah: Monday, December 7 0% < 1% 100%
Day before Christmas Eve: Wednesday, December 23 5% 7% 88%
Christmas Eve: Thursday, December 24 47% 28% 25%
Christmas Day: Friday, December 25 97% 0% 3%
Day after Christmas: Saturday, December 26 26% 1% 73%
Week between Christmas and New Year’s Day 12% < 1% 87%
New Year’s Eve: Thursday, December 31 23% 26% 51%

2015 Federal Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe
2015 Federal Holiday Closed Close Early Remain Open
New Year’s Day: Thursday, January 1 95% < 1% 4%
MLK Jr’s birthday: Monday, January 19 37% 0% 63%
President’s Day: Monday, February 16 35% 0% 65%
Memorial Day: Monday, May 25 94% 1% 5%
*Day before Independence Day: Friday, July 3 60% 8% 33%
Independence Day: Saturday, July 4 76% 1% 23%
Labor Day: Monday, September 7 95% < 1% 5%
Columbus Day: Monday, October 12 16% < 1% 84%
Veterans Day: Wednesday, November 11 20% 1% 79%
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 26 97% 1% 2%
holidays that fall on a weekend, analysis includes only respondents whose organizations are regularly open for business on Saturday or Sunday. * July
4, 2015 (the legal public holiday for Independence Day), falls on a Saturday; for most federal employees, Friday, July 3, will be treated as a holiday for
pay and leave purposes.

2015 Religious Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe
2015 Religious Holiday Closed Close Early Remain Open
Ash Wednesday: Wednesday, February 18 0% < 1% 100%
Chinese & Vietnamese New Year: Thursday, February 19 0% 0% 100%
Good Friday: Friday, April 3 28% 5% 67%
Beginning of Passover: Saturday, April 4 3% 0% 97%
Easter Monday: Monday, April 6 5% < 1% 95%
Shavuot: Sunday, May 24 3% 0% 97%
First day of Ramadan: Thursday, June 18 < 1% 0% 100%
Rosh Hashanah: Monday, September 14 < 1% < 1% 99%
Yom Kippur: Wednesday, September 23 < 1% < 1% 100%
Eid al-Adha/Festival of Sacrifice: Thursday, September 24 0% < 1% 100%
Sukkot: Monday, September 28 0% < 1% 100%
Diwali: Wednesday, November 11 0% < 1% 100%
First day of Chanukah: Monday, December 7 0% < 1% 100%
Day before Christmas Eve: Wednesday, December 23 5% 7% 88%
Christmas Eve: Thursday, December 24 47% 28% 25%
Day after Christmas: Saturday, December 26 26% 1% 73%
holidays that fall on a weekend, analysis only includes respondents whose organizations are regularly open for business on Saturday or Sunday.

Looking Ahead: New Year’s Day 2016 (Friday, January 1, 2016)
Note: n = 470. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
94%
1%
5%
Offices closed
Offices close early
Offices remain open

Change in the Number of Paid Holidays Offered by Organizations
2%
Note: Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
3%
92%
6%
97%
2%
Decrease
Stay the same
Increase
2013 to 2014
(n = 471)
2014 to 2015
(n = 456)

Demographics

Demographics: Organization Industry
Note: n = 463. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
Percentage
Manufacturing 21%
Professional, scientific and technical services 17%
Health care and social assistance 14%
Finance and insurance 10%
Government agencies 10%
Educational services 8%
Information 5%
Retail trade 5%
Construction 4%
Religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations 4%
Transportation and warehousing 4%

Demographics: Organization Industry (continued)
Note: n = 463. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
Percentage
Wholesale trade 4%
Accommodation and food services 3%
Administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services 3%
Utilities 3%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 2%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 2%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 2%
Real estate and rental and leasing 2%
Personal and laundry services 1%
Repair and maintenance 1%
Other industry 8%

Demographics: Organization Sector
n = 464
45%
23%
19%
10%
3%
Privately owned for-profit
Publicly owned for-profit
Nonprofit
Government
Other

Demographics: Organization Staff Size
Note: n = 454. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
27%
33%
17%
19%
5%
1 to 99 employees
100 to 499 employees
500 to 2,499 employees
2,500 to 24,999 employees
25,000 or more employees

U.S.-based operations only 72%
Multinational operations 28%
n = 473
Demographics: Other
What is the HR department/function for
which you responded for throughout this
survey?
Note: Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Single-unit organization: An organization in
which the location and the organization are
one and the same.
30%
Multi-unit organization: An organization that
has more than one location.
70%
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR
policies and practices
58%
Each work location determines HR policies
and practices
4%
A combination of both the work location and
the multi-unit headquarters determines HR
policies and practices
38%
Is your organization a single-unit organization or a
multi-unit organization?
For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices
determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work
location or by both?
Does your organization have U.S.-based
operations (business units) only, or does it
operate multinationally?
n = 475
n = 344
Corporate (companywide) 74%
Business unit/division 15%
Facility/location 12%
n = 346

21
SHRM Survey Findings: 2015 Holiday Schedules
Survey Methodology
• Response rate = 17%
• 492 HR professionals from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this
survey
• Margin of error +/-4%
• Survey fielded October 8-23, 2014
2015 Holiday Schedules ©SHRM 2014

• SHRM Survey Findings: Paid Leave in the Workplace
» http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/paid-leave.aspx
• SHRM Customized Benchmarking Service: Paid Leave Metrics
» http://www.shrm.org/benchmarks
• SHRM HR Topics & Strategy: Benefits: Paid Time Off
» http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/pages/paidtimeoff.aspx
• SHRM/Kronos Total Financial Impact of Employee Absences in the U.S.
» http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/Kronos_US_Executive_Summary
_Final.pdf
Additional SHRM Resources

For more survey/poll findings, visit shrm.org/surveys
For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit
shrm.org/customizedresearch
Follow us on Twitter @SHRM_Research
About SHRM Research
Project lead:
Yan Dong, SHRM Research
Tanya Mulvey, researcher, SHRM Research
Project contributors:
Evren Esen, director, Survey Programs, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the
world’s largest HR membership organization devoted to human resource management.
Representing more than 275,000 members in over 160 countries, the Society is the
leading provider of resources to serve the needs of HR professionals and advance the
professional practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575
affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and
United Arab Emirates. Visit us at shrm.org.
About SHRM

Shrm 2015-holiday-schedules

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (12)

Similar to Shrm 2015-holiday-schedules

Similar to Shrm 2015-holiday-schedules (9)

Shrm 2015-holiday-schedules