Let’s be honest, the holidays can be a difficult time for HR managers.
Work-related projects often run full steam at the end of the year, which increases burnout. At the same time, most people’s personal lives heat up as they focus on their family members, gift giving, and everything else that comes with the holiday season. These things make the end of the year a whirlwind of stress. If you’re not careful, that stress can have a seriously negative impact.
Fear not! Our 2024 HR Holiday Survival Guide is here to help you manage all of those anxieties with dignity and grace. Keep reading to learn where holiday stress comes from and its consequences. Then discover 10 proven strategies you can use to manage your stress in an effective way, while teaching your employees to do the same. Let’s get started!
What is Holiday Stress?
Understanding holiday stress is crucial to maintaining a productive and healthy workplace. First, let’s define what holiday stress really is.
Holiday stress refers to the anxiety and pressure many people feel as the year draws to a close. In an HR environment, this stress takes on unique importance due to the effects on you AND the people around you.
During the holidays, the combination of heightened expectations, financial pressures, and personal obligations can create a challenging atmosphere. HR managers need to be aware of these stressors to help foster a supportive environment for all employees.
Where Does Holiday Stress Come From?
Holiday stress can come from a variety of sources. Once you understand where stress comes from for your specific team, you can take steps to address it. Let’s look at common causes:
- Social Obligations: From office parties to family gatherings, you and your coworkers suddenly spend a lot of time outside of your normal routines. The time spent managing these commitments, in addition to work responsibilities, can leave you feeling overwhelmed.
- Holiday Traditions: People make a point to visit their parents, siblings, and other family members during the holiday season. But long car rides, days spent at the airport, and the other logistics of travel can increase stress levels by an order of magnitude.
- Financial Burdens: The holidays are expensive. You and your employees might have to buy winter clothes for your kids, or holiday decorations for the house, or plane tickets to see Grandma. And we haven’t even talked about buying gifts yet. These financial requirements often become burdensome, which can definitely cause anxiety.
- Health Concerns: Finally, your colleagues might worry about their health during the winter months. As people start spending time indoors, colds and the flu become more prevalent. The last thing anybody wants is to get sick before their big holiday celebration.
What Are the Consequences of Holiday Stress?
Holiday stress can have serious consequences—for both employees and the workplace.
For example, stress can lead to health issues that affect an employee’s availability. If your company’s absenteeism rate goes up, its productivity levels will naturally go down. Team dynamics will also suffer, as colleagues won’t have time to grow together as a unit.
Speaking of productivity, stress can make it difficult for employees to concentrate, which will lead to unforced errors, project delays, and a general inability to reach peak performance.
Last but not least, stress can lower job satisfaction. Put yourself in your employees’ shoes: would you enjoy coming to work when your mind is riddled with worry? Of course not. Prolonged stress could lead to a higher turnover rate, which will make your company less profitable. After all, studies show that it can cost up to 213% of a departing employee’s salary to replace them.
10 Ways to Minimize Stress This Holiday Season
To manage holiday stress effectively you need a plan. Here are 10 practical ways you can minimize work-related stress this holiday season—for yourself and your team.
1. Do Your Best to Plan Ahead
The last thing you want to experience during the holidays is more stress. Unfortunately, the time of year often pushes us to the breaking point, as we’ve already discussed.
Here’s the good news: you can avoid much of that stress if you plan ahead.
By creating a detailed to-do list, you can prioritize tasks and allocate your time more effectively. Doing so will reduce the kind of last-minute scrambles that cause anxiety in your life.
Technology can assist with this. For example, a calendar will help you organize personal and professional tasks and ensure you don’t overbook yourself. A project management app can help you communicate with team members and visualize deadlines. These features will keep your team on track towards end-of-year goals.
We suggest that you (and your team members!) make your holiday plans as soon as possible. When you know what your work and social schedules will look like in advance, you can pursue each project or engagement with calm and confidence. Don’t give in to the chaos!
2. Practice Mindfulness Everyday
Mindfulness will help you keep stress at bay as well.
According to the Mayo Clinic, mindfulness is, “A type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment.”
You and your coworkers can practice mindfulness via specific breathing and guided imagery exercises, which relax the mind and body and reduce stress levels. And you can do them in short spurts, like during your lunch break or when you have 10 minutes before the next meeting. The key is to not judge yourself in these times.
While all of this may sound a bit “woo woo” to you, mindfulness is a reliable way to keep yourself in the present moment, improve your mental health, and gain a fresh perspective on challenging problems. These things can elevate team performance. Encourage mindfulness in the workplace and see what happens. You might be surprised by the results!
3. Maintain Healthy Habits
The holidays can wreak havoc on one’s physical and mental well-being. That’s why it’s so important to prioritize your and your employees’ health at the end of the year.
Encourage team members to maintain a regular exercise routine. You can do this by organizing group walks during your lunch break, by purchasing gym memberships, or by providing free resources that underscore the benefits of daily movement.
Purchase healthy snacks for the break room, and making sure each employee has an adequate workload. You don’t want them burning out to get all of their work done.
Lastly, focus on mental health too. Practicing mindfulness will help, as previously suggested. But we also suggest keeping a gratitude journal, which will help you focus on the positive aspects of life. Even when the craziness of the holiday season threatens your calm.
4. Address Financial Concerns and Provide Resources
Financial stress peaks during the holidays.
While most people want to see their friends and family at this time of year, and buy them gifts they’ll truly enjoy, these activities often create a significant financial burden.
How can you help your colleagues overcome this stressor? You can provide them with financial counseling resources. Workshops on budgeting, for example, can teach attendees how to spend their money more wisely. They may feel less anxiety when they have a plan for their money.
If your company has the funds, consider giving your employees an end-of-year bonus at the beginning of the holiday season, instead of at the end of the year. Nothing counteracts financial stress like more money in the bank account. Plus, bonuses make employees feel valued, which will engage them in their work heading into the new year.
5. Grant Your Workers’ Paid Time Off Requests
Your employees will ask for PTO this holiday season. Do your best to accommodate these requests. Why? Because failing to do so will lead to more stress in the workplace.
Think about it. Your colleagues probably feel obligated to visit their parents, or go on an annual ski trip with their siblings, or attend specific holiday-themed events with their kids. These things are difficult to do when they’re chained to their desks. (And they’ll be mad at you for holding them back.)
Allowing your employees to spend more time with family members—and/or participate in the festive activities that are important to them—will help you demonstrate your company’s commitment to work-life balance. When staffers realize their employer wants them to have fulfilling personal lives, they’ll become more engaged at work and produce better results.
Now, we realize that you might not have the power to grant all PTO requests. Instead, talk to department leaders and encourage them to give time off whenever possible.
6. Stay in Constant Communication With Your Coworkers
Open communication is key to navigating holiday stress.
Regular check-in emails, how-are you-doing calls, and team-wide meetings keep everyone informed, while fostering transparency and collaboration. (All of which you need to succeed.)
Encourage employees to ask for help when they need it, or to voice their concerns when something doesn’t sit right with them. And don’t forget to simply express gratitude for everyone’s hard work. This dialogue keeps everyone on the same page and prevents stressful misunderstandings. It also makes the workplace more enjoyable, which is an important perk.
At the end of the day, a collaborative atmosphere where everyone feels heard and supported can significantly minimize anxiety—throughout the year and during the holiday season.
7. Organize Group Volunteer Activities for Employees
It’s easy to stress out when you only think about yourself*.
Volunteering within your community offers a dual benefit: it focuses your attention on the greater good and makes the world a better place. If you volunteer with coworkers you’ll enhance team cohesion too.
Honestly, there are no downsides to volunteering—and plenty of ways to do it. Serve food at a local soup kitchen. Help organize a charity run or walk. Sing carols at the retirement community down the street. These experiences provide a sense of purpose and lift spirits, while reducing stress.
*We’re not suggesting you never think about your problems and needs. But directing your focus to other people can help realign priorities and alleviate anxiety. Give it a try!
8. Host Holiday Parties for Your Team Members
A stellar holiday party will help your team relax and celebrate wins throughout the past year. So, hosting one (or two or three!) is a great way to reduce stress in the workplace.
These kinds of parties also generate holiday spirit, which makes employees feel good. The better they feel, the more productive they’ll be. The more productive they are, the better results they’ll achieve. In other words, holiday parties can have a major impact on company success.
The question is, how do you host a holiday party people want to attend? Follow these tips:
- Choose a Theme: How does your team want to celebrate the holidays at work? You might go for a throwback 80s theme. Or a winter wonderland theme. It’s up to you.
- Serve Delicious Food: Good food makes everything better. Hire a respected catering company or local restaurant to cook a memorable meal. Or take the potluck route and have your employees bring their favorite Christmas dishes to share. This will not only be fun, but build bonds between coworkers as they try each other’s top dishes.
- Host a Few Fun Activities: Finally, select activities to entertain your attendees. For example, you could host a secret Santa gift exchange, create a holiday craft table, or play board games. Consider your coworkers’ unique personalities. T​​hen choose party activities that align with their interests.
9. Focus on Employee Appreciation
Recognizing employees’ efforts during the holidays is more important than ever.
Simple gestures of appreciation, like personalized notes or small gifts, can have a dramatic effect on overall team morale, employee engagement levels, and retention metrics.
Embrace the holiday spirit and show your team some love. Then encourage your colleagues to do the same, as peer-to-peer recognition can improve company culture by 250%.
If you really want to excel at employee appreciation, use Kudoboard. Our platform was specifically designed to help companies recognize and celebrate each other. Create a gratitude board and encourage the team to share messages of appreciation for each other.
10. Commit to Managing Holiday Stress at Work
Finally, make a commitment to stress management this holiday season.
The tips above will help you and your employees manage anxiety throughout the holiday season. But only if you commit to implementing them on a daily basis.
Decide, right here and now, if you’re going to take stress seriously or not. Then act accordingly. While it will take work to plan ahead, provide financial resources to your team, host a holiday party, and do the other things we recommend, each will prove their value many times over.
As previously mentioned, by creating a calm, refreshing, and enjoyable work environment for your company, you’ll increase employee engagement, performance, and retention. Since these things are the pillars of business success, they’re definitely worth chasing.
Level Up the Holidays With Kudoboard
If you’re in HR, the holidays might feel like the Hunger Games. You’re just trying to survive until the holiday break. Then you’ll be able to finally enjoy some downtime with loved ones.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to be this way. The HR tips for the holiday season that we outlined above will help you and staff manage stress effectively at the end of the year.
So, do your best to plan ahead, encourage mindfulness, and foster open communication between team members. Then take time to appreciate your employees, provide resources for financial planning, and honor time-off requests to keep morale high.
Tools like Kudoboard make it easy to spread appreciation and holiday joy this season. Our platform was explicitly created to help you recognize your team for their hard work, increase connection between staff members, and have fun. It’s also easy to use, which means you won’t have the stress of a new platform on your plate this time of year. (Save that space for more pie.)
Forget about stress this holiday season
Use Kudoboard to recognize employees, deepen relationships, and make the holidays more enjoyable
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