The holidays are a great time of year, but they can also be stressful for many people. Help your employees enjoy the season with these stressbusting suggestions.
Fill in the blank: "It’s the most ____________ time of the year."
Did you say "wonderful"? Or did you, like many people during the holidays, answer "stressful"?
It’s true—just when we’re expected to feel joyful and uplifted, many of us feel stressed and unhappy. This stress contributes to poor productivity at work, increased susceptibility to illnesses that cause sick days, and potential long-term problems like weight gain and heart disease.
Fortunately, you can take steps during the holidays to reduce your workers’ stress levels. Our suggestions will increase the odds that your workforce enters the new year with good health and attitudes. You may not be able to use all of the suggestions—giving workers extra time off may be absolutely impossible for employers that do much of their business during the holidays—but every little bit helps.
The stressor: Holiday parties. Many employees find the holiday party circuit stressful, and employers’ holiday parties, while they may be expected, can contribute to this stress.
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Stressbuster strategies:
- Schedule office parties during the workday. This way, workers don’t need to take any extra time out of their schedule to attend, coordinate with their spouse’s schedules, or worry about extra costs for parking or attire.
- Provide healthy food options. Food temptations for workers abound during the holidays. Even if you provide premium petit fours and delicious punch, offer healthy options like fresh fruit and vegetable trays and sparkling water for employees who are trying not to overindulge.
- Wait until after the holidays. Workers may be better able to appreciate awards ceremonies and other work-related events when things have slowed down.
The stressor: Holiday expenses. It can take Americans 6 months to pay off the extra expenses of the holidays.
Stressbuster strategies:
- Limit workplace gift expectations. Don’t let it be expected that workers will exchange expensive gifts or provide gifts for many people on the job. Suggest holiday cards, inexpensive ornament exchanges, or other options that limit the funds workers feel they must spend on one another.
- Limit charity come-ons in the workplace. While the holidays are a time when many people donate to charity, give workers the freedom to choose which charity they will contribute to, and discourage workers from hitting up each other on behalf of their favorites. You can also encourage nonmonetary charitable giving by giving workers time to volunteer.
- Provide guidance. Paycheck stuffers, office newsletters, and similar resources can provide tips on controlling holiday spending and remind workers of ways to celebrate that don’t involve money.
- Provide extra income. Some workers want extra time off during the holidays; others might want opportunities to bring in some extra income. If your company provides bonuses, the holidays are a good time to distribute them. If workers consider extra shifts or overtime desirable, offer these if you can.
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The stressor: Time pressure. Your workers’ personal time is probably packed with holiday-related outings and tasks. Family get-togethers, holiday concerts, children’s activities, volunteer activities, extra shopping, and cooking all mean that workers may feel a lot of time pressure.
Stressbuster strategies:
- Allow flexible scheduling. If your workplace allows for it, flexible scheduling can be a real stressbuster. Can employees come in early or work late to take time off for outside activities? Can you offer workers a day off to do their holiday shopping? Can workers telecommute during the holidays to reduce their travel time, leaving them a few extra hours in the week for other things?
- Ease up on deadlines. Plan ahead so fewer deadlines fall in December and so December deadlines don’t fall during the week of a worker’s holiday observance (and realize that this time vary among your workforce).
- Be as fair as you can. In some jobs, somebody has to work on the holiday. People who work in these fields know that they will have to work some holidays, but they can feel oppressed if they must work every holiday. Juggle the schedules so the folks who work Thanksgiving don’t end up also working on Christmas and New Year’s.