Minimizing Holiday Stress: How Employers Can Make a Difference

From 39% in the information sector to 84% in tourism and leisure, turnover rates are an eyesore for employers. In times when talent is in acute shortage and HR teams are struggling to hire the best workers, it is important for employers to retain existing employees. This helps in maintaining a healthy turnover rate and boosts the morale of employees.

The approaching year-end deadlines, coupled with increased personal obligations add significant stress to your team during the holiday season. This is a tricky time as you have to walk the tightrope. With these strategies listed here, you can easily achieve that and keep your employees happy during the holiday season.

1. Anticipate holiday stressors

Planning in advance is the key to holiday stress management. You should start planning for this right at the beginning of the year. As the holiday season often means fewer workdays, assist your team in managing their time effectively. Prioritize projects and reassign tasks where necessary. You should encourage collaboration to share the workload.

2. Maintain effective communication

It applies both to in-office and remote teams’ work during holidays. You should be constantly in touch with them and have an open dialogue about the deadlines and planning related to them. Amid the holiday bustle, clear communication plays a key role. Make sure that everyone is aware of time-off schedules and delegate holiday management responsibilities as per that. Provide clear points of contact during out-of-office periods. To do this, assign duties to team leaders and managers. Inform them of the best practices to keep the work going on an uninterrupted team holiday.

Effective communication also means that your and your team’s laptops work at their best. To ensure optimal performance, consider using CleanMyMac to keep your devices clean and running smoothly during the holiday season. It helps manage disk space and maintain a clutter-free system, which is crucial when juggling multiple projects and deadlines.

3. Help manage financial stress

Holidays mean a lot of shopping. This Black Friday was a $9 billion sale period for businesses so it can be easily said that people love to spend more and more during holidays. Finally, it comes to you. Help your employees combat financial stress by educating them on budgeting and offering related programs. Consider providing access to financial experts for personalised advice. This will help employees plan ahead for holiday expenses and keep their finances on track.

4. Offer flexible schedules

Remote work and a flexible schedule are the in-things in 2023. Companies might have called back employees back to offices but this does not mean that the popularity of remote work and flexible schedules has decreased. Recognize the busy holiday season by allowing schedule flexibility. Permitting time off during the workday for errands or personal tasks is known to reduce stress. It has a direct impact on an employee's work-life balance, which keeps them happier and satisfied.

5. Keep an eye out for the holiday blues

This is as real as Monday Blues is. For dealing with holiday stress, acknowledge that the holidays can be challenging for some. Be aware of the signs of isolation or emotional distress. To help employees overcome any such situation, keep open lines of communication. Consider implementing daily open office hours for confidential discussions or to address any signs of mental fatigue.

6. Encourage healthy habits

Help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance during the holidays in the workplace. Encourage self-awareness of unhealthy patterns and provide tools for self-care. Promoting well-being benefits the employees during the festive season and sets a positive tone for the upcoming year. In the long run, it reduces absenteeism and boosts the productivity of your employees. Seeing the many benefits, you could launch some fitness-specific programs in your company.

7. Keep the new year in mind

Like every other thing, the festive season too comes to an end. It’s important to prepare for that too. Prepare for the post-holiday return to work by creating a structured plan. Encourage your employees to outline tasks for their first days back and communicate upcoming changes early to ensure a smooth transition. Once the new year party time is over, things will start settling down and it will be a smooth time for everyone in the company.

Stress and the holidays go hand in hand – for employers and for employees. During this time of hustle and bustle, you need to prioritise your employees' mental well-being and appreciate the fact that they need time off. Proactively addressing holiday stress will contribute to motivation and engagement throughout the holidays and beyond. Once that time around the new year is over, you will see that things settle down nicely and everybody contributes to their best. So, without any worries, start planning now.