Support Your Employees Over the Holidays
As the holiday season unfolds, it brings joy and festivities for some, loneliness for others, and for most, heightened stress and demands. At Wondersource, we recognize the importance of fostering a supportive environment for employees during this time. In this blog post, we'll explore the significance of supporting your team through the holidays and delve into the transformative power of taking a well-deserved break.
1. Acknowledging the Holiday Strain:
The holidays can be a challenging time for many individuals, both personally and professionally. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, 69% of people report feeling stressed during the holiday season. Acknowledging this strain is the first step towards creating a workplace that values the wellbeing of its employees. Show your humanity by acknowledging that many people are dealing with difficult emotions like grief, loneliness and stress, over the holidays. Sometimes, something as simple as asking someone how they’re doing and genuinely being present and open for the answer can make someone feel seen, loved and heard.
2. Supporting Mental Health:
The holidays often bring a range of emotions, and for some, it can be a lonely or challenging time. The World Health Organization reports that mental health conditions cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity each year. By actively supporting mental health, employers can make a positive impact on both their employees and the company's bottom line.
3. The Importance of Taking a Break:
Encouraging employees to take breaks is not just a matter of goodwill; it's a strategic investment in productivity, creativity, better mental and physical health, overall happiness and even greater job satisfaction. For instance, one study by the Tork found that employees who take regular lunch breaks experience higher levels of job satisfaction. Moreover, the American Sociological Association compiled a report which highlights the importance of taking holidays, “A larger number of vacations lead to a decline in the psychological distress of people.” The study highlights that work can be very stressful, and failure to take time off can create added stress.
4. Burnout and Productivity:
The cost of being always-on is high. More than half of employees (59%) report feeling burnout according to a recent survey from Aflac. According to a survey conducted by Gallup, burned-out employees are 63% more likely to take a sick day, 23% more likely to visit the emergency room, and 2.6 times as likely to leave their current employer. Engagement has taken the opposite turn and is declining among the U.S. workers. Alarmingly, both high burnout and low engagement rates are associated with hindered performance. By actively promoting breaks and time off during the holidays, employers can mitigate the risk of burnout and enhance overall productivity.
5. Strategies for Supporting Employees:
Flexible Schedules: Consider offering flexible work hours or remote work options during the holiday season.
Mental Health Resources: Make information about mental health resources easily accessible and encourage employees to utilize available support. At Wondersource, we are committed to supporting employees wherever they are on their well-being journey and we offer resources, 1-1 mental health and stress reduction support and more to do that just that.
Express Gratitude: Recognize and appreciate your team's hard work, boosting morale and creating a positive atmosphere.
Lead by Example: As a boss, recognise that everyone needs a break, including you. Be a role model, by taking time off to reset and nourish yourself, do more of what you enjoy and spend time with people you love. Share about your plans freely encouraging your team to do the same.
6. Strategies for Supporting Ourselves through the Holidays:
Rest and Recharge: Make time to relax, watch movies, and do things that you find healing and relaxing. It’s important that we give ourselves time every to regularly relax and the holidays can be a great opportunity to do this.
Show Yourself Love and Compassion: Honour yourself and your well-being by pouring love into yourself every day and showing yourself compassion. Commit to talking lovingly and positively to yourself. You are worthy, important and valued.
Create a Holiday Well-Being Routine: It’s important to enjoy yourself over the holidays while still taking care of yourself so you don’t come back feeling depleted and run down. There are many things you can do to create this balance. For example, if you plan to be out a lot, consider cutting out alcohol or taking every other night off from alcohol, decide to go out no more than 3 times or whatever number feels right for you per week, carve out a set amount of time for you to connect with yourself and get centered through things like breath-work, walks in nature or sitting in stillness. Everyone is different and what will feel right for you is unique to you. Spend time considering how you can allow yourself to have fun, relax and be less structured, while still taking good care of yourself.
Connect with Loved Ones: One of the greatest joys in life comes from our meaningful relationships and the greatest gift we can give someone is our presence. Make an effort to spend quality time with loved ones. Put your phone away, be present, genuinely talk to people with your undivided attention.
Honour Your Emotions: Spending more time with your family, can bring up a lot of emotions. Let yourself feel all your emotions as they come up, acknowledge them and simply let them be without needing to change or suppress them.
Set Healthy Boundaries: Over the holidays, we might over exert ourselves with many plans, spend time with difficult family members or feel more emotional than other times of the year. To support yourself through it, set healthy boundaries that honour your needs first and foremost. This might look like not sharing about something in your life with a family member when you feel you’re often put down when you do so, limiting your time with particular people, saying no to an event because you’re feeling tired and run down, opting to skip the alcohol or skip nights of alcohol when you know it often leaves you feeling anxious, being aware if people pleasing tendencies come up and take a step back to value yourself and honour your needs.
Leave Unstructured Time: One of the best ways to relax and recharge, is by giving ourselves some time to do what we want without an agenda. In our busy working lives, we often go from meeting to meeting and appointment to appointment, but the holidays are a time where you can have more freedom over your schedule. Take advantage by giving yourself space.
Prioritise your Joy: Let go and try not to take things so seriously. Allow yourself to have fun, to relax, to do the things you enjoy. Watch a funny movie, play a board game that brings you joy, play music and dance around your house, book a massage. Consider all the things that bring you joy and do more of them. An antidote to stress is joy and laughter.
Set intentions for your holidays: Be clear with yourself about how you want to spend your time over the holidays. Do you want to try a new recipe, spend more time with loved ones, relax and switch off, prioritise quality sleep? Whatever it may be, spend 15 minutes before going into the holidays considering how you want to spend your time, so you’ll be more likely to do that and come back over the holidays feeling like you got to do what you wanted.
Conclusion:
At Wondersource, we know that a healthy and supportive workplace is the foundation for success. As leaders and colleagues, we can acknowledge the challenges of the holiday season, actively support our mental health, and encourage employees to take breaks, not only fostering a positive work environment but also set the stage for increased productivity, creativity, and overall wellbeing.
This holiday season, let's prioritize our health and happiness and that of our employees, recognizing that a well-supported team is the key to a thriving and successful workplace.
#mentalfitness #productivity #mentalfitness #leadership #mentalhealth #workpalcewellness #workpalcewellbeing