The holidays can be a difficult time to navigate as an employer. All employers want is a happy staff for the holiday season. But that begs the question: What am I expected to do? I’m glad you asked, and you came to the right place. Discovering the best practices for a business during this merry season is solely a trial-and-error type of thing. Every business is different, and your employees are different. It is important to reflect on these possibilities and have fun with it. SHRM is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to deciding these actions.
Let’s discuss 5 ways to make the holiday season more joyful for your team:
Allow flexible scheduling
Employees celebrate different holidays at different times. It is important that everyone gets to spend time with their friends and families.
Avoid big deadlines around this time of year
Most deadlines should be able to be pushed back to January. This time of year makes it hard for your employees to remain efficient. Quality work is much better than rushed, pressured work.
Send gifts and hold events
Something small like a corporate gift could mean the world to your staff. A token of appreciation speaks volumes! Having a voluntary holiday party may be a good way to allow your staff to socialize and wind down after a year’s work.
Encourage time off
It may be tricky to get everyone in and out of the office without impacting your production levels, but that’s the holidays! It’s the one time of year employees can truly savor and work towards. They’ve earned it.
Remind employees about your EAP
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is an employee benefit program that assists employees with personal issues and/or work-related problems that may impact their job performance, health, mental health, or overall well-being. For some, the holidays can be a difficult time. Perhaps they recently lost a loved one or are left to celebrate on their own. Pointing them in the direction of the EAP could help them through a difficult time while promoting the goodness of your benefits program.
With all this being said, it is important to not stress yourself out for the sake of others. The best advice we can provide is to take it all one day at a time and do your best. There’s always next year. Firelands Forward is here to help and we wish you the happiest of holidays!
