SHRM Survey Findings on 2016 Holiday Schedules

SHRM Survey Findings: 2016 Holiday Schedules
November 4, 2015

• In 2016, which holidays overall will most U.S. organizations observe by closing their
offices?1 The vast majority of organizations (92%-94%) will observe the following holidays in 2016:
» New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1)
» Memorial Day (Monday, May 30)
» Independence Day (Monday, July 4)
» Labor Day (Monday, September 5)
» Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 24)
• In 2016, which religious holidays will most U.S. organizations observe by closing their
offices? Overall, few organizations will close their offices on religious holidays, with the exception
of Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. In 2016, 80% of organizations will be closed on Christmas
Day (which falls on a Sunday in 2016), and 40% will be closed on Easter Sunday. The next most
common religious holiday for which some organizations will be closed is Christmas Eve/first day of
Chanukah (34%) (which falls on a Saturday in 2016).
• In 2016, do organizations plan to close for the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s
Day? Although the majority of organizations (88%) will remain open for the week between
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day in 2016, 11% plan to close, and 1% plan to close early.
2016 Holiday Schedules ©SHRM 2015 2
Key Findings
1The holidays listed below are those that fall during the Monday through Friday workweek in 2016. Only organizations that are open on the weekend
were asked whether they observe a holiday that falls on a weekend, such as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which will fall on a weekend in 2016.

• Do organizations allow employees to “swap holidays” (i.e., employees are allowed to
request to work on a holiday provided by the policy in exchange for being off on a holiday
not provided by the policy)? Fifteen percent of organizations indicated they allow full-time
employees to “swap holidays”; 11% of organizations allow part-time employees to do so.
Key Findings (continued)

Organizations’ Operating Status on Weekends
24%
10%
1%
65%
Open on Saturday and Sunday
Open only on Saturday
Open only on Sunday
Not open on weekends
Just over one-third of
organizations (35%) are
typically open for business
on at least one weekend
day.
n = 385

2016 Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: January-May1
2016 Holiday, January-May Closed Close Early Remain Open
New Year’s Day: Friday, January 1 93% 0% 7%
Day after New Year’s Day: Saturday, January 2 30% 1% 69%
Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday: Monday, January 18 35% 0% 65%
Chinese & Vietnamese New Year: Monday, February 8 < 1% 0% 100%
Ash Wednesday: Wednesday, February 10 1% < 1% 99%
President’s Day: Monday, February 15 33% 0% 67%
Good Friday: Friday, March 25 27% 5% 67%
Easter Sunday: Sunday, March 27 40% 0% 60%
Easter Monday: Monday, March 28 6% < 1% 94%
Beginning of Passover: Saturday, April 23 2% 0% 98%
End of Passover: Saturday, April 30 2% 0% 98%
Friday before Memorial Day: Friday, May 27 3% 10% 87%
Memorial Day: Monday, May 30 93% < 1% 7%
Note: n = 88-383. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Only
respondents whose organizations are regularly open for business on Saturday or Sunday were shown holidays that fall on a weekend.
1This list includes both federal and religious observances.

2016 Holiday, June-October Closed Close Early Remain Open
Beginning of Ramadan: Tuesday, June 7 0% 0% 100%
Shavuot: Sunday, June 12 1% 0% 99%
Friday before Independence Day: Friday, July 1 3% 11% 86%
Independence Day: Monday, July 4 93% < 1% 7%
End of Ramadan: Tuesday, July 5 1% < 1% 99%
Friday before Labor Day: Friday, September 2 3% 11% 87%
Labor Day: Monday, September 5 92% 1% 7%
Eid al-Adha/Festival of Sacrifice: Tuesday, September 13 0% < 1% 100%
First Day of Rosh Hashanah: Monday, October 3 0% < 1% 100%
Second Day of Rosh Hashanah: Tuesday, October 4 < 1% 1% 99%
Columbus Day: Monday, October 10 13% 1% 86%
Yom Kippur: Wednesday, October 12 0% 1% 99%
Sukkot/Feast of Booths: Sunday, October 16 0% 0% 100%
Diwali: Sunday, October 30 0% 0% 100%
2016 Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: June-October1

2016 Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: November-December1
2016 Holiday, November-December Closed Close Early Remain Open
Veterans Day: Friday, November 11 19% 1% 80%
Day before Thanksgiving: Wednesday, November 23 2% 22% 76%
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 24 94% 1% 5%
Day after Thanksgiving: Friday, November 25 71% 2% 27%
Day before Christmas Eve: Friday, December 23 28% 16% 57%
Christmas Eve/first day of Chanukah: Saturday,
December 24
34% 23% 43%
Christmas Day: Sunday, December 25 80% 1% 19%
Day after Christmas: Monday, December 26 54% 1% 45%
Week between Christmas and New Year’s Day 11% 1% 88%
Friday before New Year’s Eve: Friday, December 30 21% 11% 68%
New Year’s Eve: Saturday, December 31 30% 14% 55%
New Year’s Day: Sunday, January 1 , 2017 73% 0% 27%
Monday after New Year’s Day: Monday, January 2, 2017 44% 1% 56%

2016 Federal Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe
2016 Federal Holiday Closed Close Early Remain Open
New Year’s Day: Friday, January 1 93% 0% 7%
Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday: Monday, January 18 35% 0% 65%
President’s Day: Monday, February 15 33% 0% 67%
Memorial Day: Monday, May 30 93% < 1% 7%
Independence Day: Monday, July 4 93% < 1% 7%
Labor Day: Monday, September 5 92% 1% 7%
Columbus Day: Monday, October 10 13% 1% 86%
Veterans Day: Friday, November 11 19% 1% 80%
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 24 94% 1% 5%
New Year’s Day: Sunday, January 1, 2017 73% 0% 27%

2016 Religious Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: January-July
2016 Religious Holiday Closed Close Early Remain Open
Chinese & Vietnamese New Year: Monday, February 8 < 1% 0% 100%
Ash Wednesday: Wednesday, February 10 1% < 1% 99%
Good Friday: Friday, March 25 27% 5% 67%
Easter Sunday: Sunday, March 27 40% 0% 60%
Beginning of Passover: Saturday, April 23 2% 0% 98%
End of Passover: Saturday, April 30 2% 0% 98%
Beginning of Ramadan: Tuesday, June 7 0% 0% 100%
Shavuot: Sunday, June 12 1% 0% 99%
End of Ramadan: Tuesday, July 5 1% < 1% 99%

2016 Religious Holidays Organizations Plan to Observe: August-December
2016 Religious Holiday Closed Close Early Remain Open
Eid al-Adha/Festival of Sacrifice: Tuesday, September 13 0% < 1% 100%
First Day of Rosh Hashanah: Monday, October 3 0% < 1% 100%
Second Day of Rosh Hashanah: Tuesday, October 4 < 1% 1% 99%
Yom Kippur: Wednesday, October 12 0% 1% 99%
Sukkot: Sunday, October 16 0% 0% 100%
Diwali: Sunday, October 30 0% 0% 100%
Day before Christmas Eve: Friday, December 23 28% 16% 57%
Christmas Eve/First day of Chanukah: Saturday,
December 24
34% 23% 43%
Day after Christmas: Monday, December 26 54% 1% 45%

Percentage of Organizations Allowing Employees to Swap Holidays1
Part-time employees
(n = 377)
Full-time employees
(n = 385)
11%
15%
1i.e., Employees are allowed to request to work on a holiday provided by the policy in exchange for being off on a holiday not provided by the policy; for
example, an employee may work on Christmas Day in exchange for taking Yom Kippur or Chinese New Year as a holiday.

Change in the Number of Paid Holidays Offered by Organizations
3%
92%
5%
2%
97%
1%
Decrease
Stay the same
Increase
2014 to 2015
(n = 383)
2015 to 2016
(n = 361)
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Demographics

Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Manufacturing 19%
Professional, scientific and technical services 13%
Health care and social assistance 12%
Finance and insurance 12%
Educational services 9%
Government agencies 7%
Transportation and warehousing 5%
Retail trade 5%
Utilities 5%
Construction 5%
Administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services 5%
Note: n = 365. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

Demographics: Organization Industry (continued)
Percentage
Real estate and rental and leasing 4%
Repair and maintenance 4%
Wholesale trade 3%
Accommodation and food services 3%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 2%
Information 2%
Religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations 2%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 2%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 2%
Personal and laundry services < 1%
Other industry 12%
Note: n = 365. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

Demographics: Organization Sector
55%
19%
16%
9%
2%
Privately owned for-profit
Nonprofit
Publicly owned for-profit
Government
Other
Note: n = 356. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

Demographics: Organization Staff Size
15%
37%
25%
19%
6%
1 to 99 employees
100 to 499 employees
500 to 2,499 employees
2,500 to 24,999 employees
25,000 or more employees
Note: n = 232. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

n = 380
Demographics: Other
U.S.-based operations only 77%
Multinational operations 23%
Single-unit organization: An organization in
which the location and the organization are
one and the same.
36%
Multi-unit organization: An organization that
has more than one location.
64%
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies
and practices
57%
Each work location determines HR policies
and practices
3%
A combination of both the work location and
the multi-unit headquarters determines HR
policies and practices
40%
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 = 381
n = 255
Corporate (companywide) 72%
Business unit/division 14%
Facility/location 14%
n = 256
What is the HR department/function for
which you responded throughout this
survey?

19
SHRM Survey Findings: 2016 Holiday Schedules
• Response rate = 13%
• 385 HR professionals from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this
survey
• Margin of error +/-5%
• Survey fielded October 5-16, 2015
Survey Methodology
2016 Holiday Schedules ©SHRM 2015

• 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 2015 Employee Benefits
• http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/2015-employee-benefits.aspx
• SHRM/Kronos Total Financial Impact of Employee Absences in the U.S.
» http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/pages/shrm-kronos-survey-findings--total-
financial-impact-of-employee-absences-across-the-united-states-china,-australia--europe-
.aspx
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:
Jeanessa Gantt, SHRM Research
Karen Wessels, researcher, SHRM Research
Project contributors:
Evren Esen, director, Survey Programs, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

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SHRM Survey Findings on 2016 Holiday Schedules

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SHRM Survey Findings on 2016 Holiday Schedules