Other takeaways from this annual survey, which included information from 350 human resources and employee relations personnel:

Employees involved in safety, security, technical jobs and maintenance are most likely to be doing duty on Thursday;
82 percent of the surveyed firms will provide employees extra compensation or time off, including time-and-a-half pay (32 percent), double-time pay (24 percent), compensatory time off in addition to regular pay (8 percent), or a combination of overtime and compensatory time off (6 percent) for working the holiday;

79 percent of companies employing fewer than 1,000 workers offer paid holidays for both Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, compared to 58 percent of larger companies;
A full Thanksgiving Day work shift is planned by 20 percent of smaller firms and 66 percent of firms with at least 1,000 employees;
More employers are doling out Thanksgiving gifts to employees this year than in past years, with 26 percent having some type of employee gift planned compared with a range of 11 to 20 percent during the previous decade. Sixteen percent of firms will hold Thanksgiving luncheons or dinners, 7 percent will distribute gift certificates for food, while 4 percent will send workers home with a turkey.

Instant Insights /

Who's spending Thanksgiving on the job?