The holiday season is here, and we have a question for you, do you feel stressed out? If you answer yes, you are not alone. A survey highlights that 88% “feel the festive season is the most stressful time of the year” (Gervis, 2019). The American Psychological Association illustrates that 38% of individuals say that there is an increase in stress over the holidays (Moss, 2018).
Holiday stress in the workplace
The holiday season means that 2021 is coming to an end. For many companies, the end of the year is a stressful time because of the pressure to end the year strong and to plan for the new year ahead (Barrett-Poindexter, 2018). Near the end of the year, many employees have expectations. They need to finish projects before the year ends, and while doing so, they each have their holiday obligations. A study with 600 full-time employees conducted by Accenture illustrates that out of the respondents, 66% say that they feel “additional stress at work during the holidays” (AMA Staff, 2019).
Impact of stress in the workplace
Health and the workplace are negatively affected when employees are stressed. Stress often translates to a poor immune system, high blood pressure, and headaches (Kohll, 2017). It negatively impacts an employee’s productivity, teamwork, concentration, motivation, and performance. Stress leads to turnover, as employees are 3X more likely to quit their job (Peart, 2019). Creativity, strategic thinking, and innovation falter when employees are stressed. If an employee continues to be stressed, it can lead to burnout (Peart, 2019).
A study by Accountemps illustrates “that 44% of surveyed executives experience a productivity drop off the week before the holidays” (Stahl, 2018).
One of the reasons that contribute to this fall is burnout during the holiday season (AMA Staff, 2019).
What can employers do to reduce employee stress during the holiday season?
The holiday season is a busy time, and offering flexibility to your team can help reduce stress. Providing your employees with a day off near the holidays can make a giant impact on your employee's well-being and help to lower their stress. Employees can do what they need to do in their personal lives, and they will feel grateful and appreciative (Moss, 2018). Grateful employees "are more engaged, community-minded, and happier at work" (Moss, 2018).
A study shows that “54% of surveyed workers reported that flexible hours would help alleviate workplace stress" (Stahl, 2018).
If possible, extend project due dates to next year to help reduce the amount on your employee’s plate. Employers need to gather their employee’s feedback and check in with their employees to see how they are doing/feeling. Encourage your employees to be active, through yoga, exercising, or taking time for a walk can help to release endorphins and reduce stress. The end of the year is a good time for employers to recognize their team’s efforts and accomplishments. When you recognize your employees for their hard work, it helps decrease your employee’s level of stress.
Yes, there are ways to help reduce stress for your employees during the holidays, but there are ways to ensure that your employees feel less stressed when the holiday season comes around. Statistics show that when employees are engaged, it helps to lower stress levels and increase job satisfaction, productivity, profits, and retention (Peart, 2019).
There are many different ways to help improve your employee engagement. For instance, increasing responsibility, autonomy, flexibility, and creating a work culture that supports growth can increase employee engagement. Additionally, recognition, rewards, and training can improve employee engagement.
Surveys are one way that allows employees to feel heard and valued. When your company does not consistently survey its employees, it signals to them that the company doesn’t care about their opinions. In other words, “employees value having a say even if they don’t get their way” (Judd et al., 2018).
How we can help
We don’t believe in cookie-cutter employee surveys because every company is unlike the other. We allow you to customize:
1). Your survey questions and templates
2). Your survey length and frequency
3). Your dashboard and reports
What happens when you don’t know what to do with your employee engagement results? Our team can help you interpret your results and coach you, so you can take action to improve your employee engagement.
Retainify is an employee engagement and development software that offers a unified solution that allows you to track employee sentiment and measure engagement in real-time. Proactively identify issues that are preventing them from being their best at work. Improve business outcomes by improving the employee experience and enhancing company culture one feedback at a time. Turn Feedback into Action.
Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday! - Retainify Team
Contact Us: hello@retainify.com
Citations:
AMA Staff. (2019, January 24). Coping with Holiday Stress at Work. Retrieved December 09, 2021, from https://www.amanet.org/articles/coping-with-holiday-stress-at-work/
Barrett-Poindexter, J. (2018, December 18). How to Help Employees Avoid End-of-Year Stress. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/avoid-end-of-year-stress/
Gervis, Z. (2019, December 17). Why nearly 80% of Americans find it hard to relax during the holiday season. Retrieved December 09, 2021, from https://nypost.com/2019/12/17/why-nearly-80-of-americans-find-it-hard-to-relax-during-the-holiday-season/
Judd, S., O'Rourke, E., & Grant, A. (2018, March 14). Employee Surveys Are Still One of the Best Ways to Measure Engagement. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2018/03/employee-surveys-are-still-one-of-the-best-ways-to-measure-engagement
Kohll, A. (2017, February 22). 25 Ways To Cut Employee Stress And Boost Productivity. Retrieved December 09, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2017/02/22/25-ways-to-cut-employee-stress-and-boost-productivity/?sh=4abbfeaf20f9
Lytle, T. (2016, September 22). 7 Tips to Increase Employee Engagement Without Spending a Dime. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/1016/pages/7-tips-to-increase-employee-engagement-without-spending-a-dime.aspx
Moss, J. (2018, December 18). Holidays Can Be Stressful. They Don’t Have to Stress Out Your Team. Retrieved December 09, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2018/12/holidays-can-be-stressful-they-dont-have-to-stress-out-your-team
Nest, K. V. (2021, October 16). 15 Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress at Work. Retrieved December 09, 2021, from https://work.doordash.com/the-lunch-break/15-tips-to-reduce-holiday-stress-at-work
Peart, N. (2019, November 05). Making Work Less Stressful and More Engaging for Your Employees. Retrieved December 09, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2019/11/making-work-less-stressful-and-more-engaging-for-your-employee
SHRM. (n.d.). Managing Employee Surveys. Retrieved November 09, 2021, fromhttps://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingemployeesurveys.aspx
Stahl, A. (2018, December 18). How To Manage Your Stress During The Holidays. Retrieved December 09, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2018/12/18/how-to-manage-your-stress-during-the-holidays/?sh=621286eb6aeb