How to make sure your employees have a stress-free holiday season
The holiday season is an exciting time for employees. The office is decorated, there is a festive atmosphere, and everyone is excited about the upcoming holidays. However, it can also cause stress as employees rush to complete outstanding tasks and projects in order to actually enjoy their vacation. During this stressful time, it’s important for leaders to support their teams in fighting year-end burnout with a set of insightful tips and strategies. Read on for 8 employee wellness strategies that will transform December from a busy month to a cheerful and fun month.
8 Celebration Strategies to Promote Employee Health
1. Offering flexible schedules
Flexibility is key during the holiday season. Do your employees need to attend your child’s school Christmas recital or sneak in some last-minute grocery or gift shopping? Help your employees balance their workload and personal responsibilities by offering flexible work options. During December, you can allow for adjustable start and end times, a shorter work week, or the option to work from home. This allows employees to better balance their obligations without sacrificing anything.
2. Support time management
With so much to accomplish in such a limited time frame, time management skills become extremely important. Employees need to know how to organize their time, which tasks to prioritize, how to set realistic goals, and when to ask for help, among other things. We’ll help you learn and hone these skills with short training modules and video tutorials on how to make the most of the project and time management tools you already have access to, or introduce you to new tools you can try.
3. Increase mental health awareness
It’s common for employees to ignore the impact of holiday disruption on their mental health, often choosing to simply “pull through it.” But there is no doubt that this mindset will affect their performance sooner or later. So, another employee wellness strategy we suggest for the holiday season is to prioritize mental health awareness and conduct regular check-ins with your employees. A short meeting to ask your employees about their challenges can provide the support you need and greatly boost employee morale, making them feel valued and recognized.
4. Don’t overlook your physical health
While the importance of mental health is undeniable, don’t forget about your employees’ physical health. During the holiday season, employees are likely to sleep less, sit more, and eat extra Christmas treats. Help your employees maintain healthy habits by incorporating some reminders into the platforms they use every day. For example, remind them to walk for 5 minutes, stay hydrated, or share a quick exercise video that shows them how to stretch their muscles after sitting all day. These simple activities encourage movement and help employees feel focused and energized throughout the day.
5. Encourage breaks and PTO usage
Some employees may consider not using all their vacation time to get as much work done as possible. It’s important for leaders to prevent this from happening and encourage employees to make the most of their paid time off to rest, recharge, and spend quality time with loved ones. The same goes for breaks throughout the day, as working non-stop significantly increases the risk of burnout. Foster a culture that values breaks by emphasizing that short breaks can enhance productivity, not hinder it. Encourage employees to schedule breaks as a reminder to get up and clear their heads.
6. Plan a cyclone holiday event
Another strategy you can implement to celebrate your employees’ health is to organize a holiday gathering at your office. Events like this encourage connections and relationship-building between employees and create a friendlier, more relaxed atmosphere during even the busiest times. However, it is important to remember that such gatherings should not put additional stress or pressure on employees. Don’t force yourself to attend, and try to keep preparations to a minimum. Something as simple as a short casual meeting or coffee break can be enough to lighten the mood and make employees feel more connected and included.
7. Help employees set healthy boundaries
Setting boundaries in the workplace is essential at any time of the year, but especially during the busy holiday season. In an effort to make everyone happy, employees can overextend themselves and ultimately lead to burnout. Support your employees during this period by training them on how to say no, not just permission, how to manage boss and coworker expectations, how to negotiate deadlines, and how to clearly communicate what they can and can’t do. When you empower your employees in this way, they’re less likely to end the holiday season feeling overwhelmed and overworked.
8. Start reflection activities
It’s important to end the year on a positive note by taking time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished so far. When work is in full swing, it can be difficult to recognize how much you’ve accomplished. Therefore, a strategy that can promote employee wellness is to take a step back to celebrate all the successfully achieved milestones and goals. This is more than just a feel-good activity; it boosts employee confidence and acts as a great motivator to perform even better next year.
conclusion
The holiday season doesn’t have to be synonymous with burnout, stress, and unmanageable workloads. You can turn this around by following a few simple employee wellness strategies, including promoting flexibility, effective time management, maintaining mental and physical health, setting clear boundaries, and engaging in self-reflection. These steps can reduce stress and help you spend the holiday season in a more mindful state, so your employees can enter the new year feeling refreshed rather than burnt out.
