The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Employee Survey Shows Job Satisfaction Jumps with Regular Swag Gifts

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Oct 24, 2024, 09:24 ET

2024 Custom Ink Employee Swag Survey Finds Branded Gifts Increase Retention, Positive Feelings About Employer, Sense of Connection to Team

FAIRFAX, Va., Oct. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Custom Ink, the online leader in custom apparel, accessories, and other swag for organizations, groups, and communities, today released new survey results showing that employees who regularly receive swag (i.e. gifts with a company logo, such as custom t-shirts or custom water bottles) are far more satisfied with their jobs and more likely to stay with their company longer.

According to the 2024 Employee Swag Survey, 94% of employees who receive swag at least once a month at work say they are "very satisfied" with their current employer, in comparison to 33% of employees who received swag less than once a year and just 18% of employees whose companies never gave them swag. Swag also proved a powerful retention tool with 93% of employees saying they would be more likely to stay with their companies another year if they received a favorite piece of swag.

"The power of custom swag is truly amazing," said David Doctorow, CEO of Custom Ink. "Every company wants to increase the feeling of connection and belonging among its employees, and our research found that one of the best ways of fostering that team connection is through branded gifts. In addition to building a team connection, the right swag will also strengthen retention and help ensure employees feel more satisfied in their jobs. By making swag a regular part of employee recognition and corporate events, forward-thinking companies can build a stronger, happier, and more cohesive team."

Among other findings of the 2024 Custom Ink Swag Survey:

Employees overwhelmingly said swag would increase retention, with 93% saying they would be more likely to stay with their employer for another year if they received the right piece of swag.
A similar percentage (88%) of employees said they felt more positive about their company after receiving a favorite piece of swag.
A large majority of employees (92%) said wearing company swag increased their feeling of connection and community to their team.
More than two-thirds of employees (70%) said they receive swag from their employer at least once a year, with one in five (22%) saying they get such items from their employer every month. Those monthly swag recipients reported the highest job satisfaction by far, with 94% saying they are "very satisfied" with their current employer.
One in four employees said their favorite swag item was apparel (t-shirts 13% and hoodies/jackets 12%). Other popular items included backpacks (7%), drink containers (travel coffee cups 7%, mugs/glasses 5%, and water bottles 5%), and tote bags (5%).
By a four-to-one margin (81% to 19%), employees would rather receive a piece of swag that they love and use to celebrate a team success over a happy hour or meal with their team.

Surprisingly, retention increased regardless of the employee's current satisfaction level with their employer, as even 81% of dissatisfied employees said a preferred piece of swag would make them more likely to stay.

The survey was conducted among 1,064 US adults who work for companies with more than 50 employees via SurveyMonkey from August 30-31, 2024. Based on a confidence interval of 95 percent, the margin of error for the survey is +/- 3 percent. The full survey results are available on the Custom Ink website at https://blog.customink.com/company-swag-survey-results/.

About Custom Ink

Custom Ink is the online leader in custom swag and apparel for companies, schools, organizations, groups, and other communities. The company helps people bring their families, friends, teammates, and colleagues together with inspired products they are proud to wear and use. Custom Ink makes getting custom gear smooth and seamless with innovative design tools, caring customer service, creative design inspiration, and high-quality merchandise. Custom Ink also offers a Fundraising platform to help raise money and awareness for charities and causes, and it owns Swag.com, Printfection, and Swag Space, a new end-to-end white-label platform for promotional product distributors.

Media Contact:
Andrew Weinstein
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SOURCE Custom Ink