Here’s how to help employees have a stress-free holiday season
The holiday season can be an exciting time for employees. The office is decorated, a festive atmosphere fills the air, and everyone is buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming break. However, it can also cause stress as employees rush to complete outstanding tasks and projects so that they can actually enjoy their time. During this stressful time, it’s important for leaders to help their teams combat year-end burnout with a set of insightful tips and strategies. Read on to discover 8 festive employee wellness strategies that will turn December from a busy month into a happy and enjoyable one.
8 Festive Strategies to Promote Employee Wellness
1. Offer flexible scheduling
Flexibility is key during the holiday season. Do your employees need to perform Christmas recitals at their child’s school or sneak in some last-minute grocery or gift shopping? Help them keep up with their workload as well as personal responsibilities by offering flexible work options. During December, you can allow for adjustable start or end times, compressed workweeks, or the option to work from home. This way, employees will be able to better balance their responsibilities without sacrificing on any front.
2. Time management support
When there is so much to accomplish in such a tight time frame, time management skills are of the essence. Employees need to know how to manage their time, what tasks to prioritize, how to set realistic goals, and when to ask for help, among other things. You can help them acquire and hone these skills with short training modules and video tutorials on how to use the project and time management tools they already have access to, as well as introduce them to new tools they can try.
3. Encourage mental health awareness
It’s common for employees to feel that the chaos of the holiday season can take a toll on their mental health, often choosing to “strength through strength.” However, this mindset will undoubtedly affect their performance sooner or later. So, another employee wellness strategy we recommend for the festive season is prioritizing mental health awareness and conducting regular check-ins with employees. Short meetings where you ask employees about their challenges can provide much-needed support and significantly boost their morale, making them feel valued and visible.
4. Don’t neglect physical health
The importance of mental health cannot be denied, but we must not forget about the physical health of employees. During the holiday season, employees may sleep less, sit more and indulge in extra Christmas treats. Help employees maintain healthy habits by adding some reminders to the platform they use daily. For example, remind them to take a five-minute walk, stay hydrated, or share a quick exercise video that shows how to stretch their muscles after a long day of sitting. These simple activities can encourage movement and help employees feel more focused and motivated throughout the day.
5. Encourage using breaks and PTO
Some employees may consider not using all of their vacation time to get more work done. It’s important that leaders prevent this from happening, encouraging employees to fully utilize their PTO to rest, recharge, and spend quality time with loved ones. The same applies to breaks throughout the day, as working non-stop increases the risk of burnout significantly. Foster a culture that values downtime by reinforcing that a quick break doesn’t disrupt one’s productivity, but enhances it. Encourage employees to schedule breaks as reminders to unwind and clear their minds.
6. Organize low-stress holiday events
Another festive employee wellness strategy you can implement is to organize office holiday get-togethers. Such events promote communication and relationship building between employees, creating a friendlier and more relaxed atmosphere during a very busy time. However, it is important to remember that these gatherings should not put extra pressure and stress on the employees. Don’t force attendance and make it so that minimal preparation is required beforehand. Even something as simple as a short casual meeting or coffee hangout can be enough to lighten the mood and help employees feel more connected and present.
7. Empower employees to set healthy boundaries
Setting boundaries in the workplace is important any time of year, and especially during the difficult holiday season. In an effort to keep everyone happy, employees can stretch themselves too thin, and eventually burn out. Support employees during this time by not only giving them permission, but also training them how to say no, manage the expectations of their superiors and peers, negotiate deadlines, and clearly communicate what they can and cannot do. Empowering your workforce in this way makes them less likely to feel overwhelmed by the holiday season and overworked.
8. Begin reflective activities
It’s important to end the year on a positive note, dedicating some time to reflect on what’s happened so far. When work is in full swing, it can be hard to realize how much you’ve accomplished. Therefore, one strategy that can promote employee well-being is taking a step back to celebrate all the milestones and goals that were successfully reached. It is more than a good activity, as it builds the confidence of the employees and acts as a great motivation to perform even better in the coming year.
The result
The holiday season doesn’t have to be synonymous with burnout, stress and a disorganized workload. This situation can be alleviated by following some simple employee wellness strategies, such as flexibility, effective time management, maintaining mental and physical health, setting clear boundaries, and engaging in reflection. These steps ensure that the holiday season passes with less stress and more mindfulness, helping employees enter the new year feeling refreshed rather than burned out.
