The holidays are a beautiful time of joy, excitement, memories, and fun. For some employees though, this season can be filled with stress, burnout, exhaustion, or demotivation. Regardless of where your employees are at, the holidays are an opportunity to celebrate them and show appreciation for their hard work. Celebrating the holidays can also create a more positive work life for employees, encourage positive peer interaction, and help everyone gear up for the upcoming new year. Here are five ways you can celebrate the holiday season with your employees this year.
Offer Inclusive Celebrations
When we think of the holiday season, our minds often go immediately to Christmas. While Christmas is on of the largest holidays during this time of year, there are several other festivals including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the New Year. By celebrating these other holidays, even in small ways, your employees of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions will feel more included and seen. Make sure all celebrations are optional so that employees need only participate in what they feel comfortable with.
Make Celebrations Simple and Spread Out
Spreading out holiday celebrations into smaller festivities gives more employees the opportunity to participate. Selecting neutral days to share food, small gifts, etc. can be a great way to make sure everyone gets a chance to join into the fun regardless of scheduling issues. Since this is often a busy time for your employees, keep celebrations simple and stress free. This could look like everyone getting together to decorate the store, having some fun games, quizzes, and prizes another day, holiday treats, etc. You can still host a larger celebration, such as a team dinner, as well but these smaller celebrations during the last few hours of the workday can really boost morale and holiday spirit.
Show Gratitude
The end of year holiday season is the perfect time to acknowledge your employees’ achievements from the year. Studies have shown that showing your employees gratitude directly impacts the success of your business, read about it in this article! Give personal appreciation to each employee, point out what each of them has accomplished during the year, and even consider gifting a bonus or extra days off for the holidays. You could also offer rewards points for their accomplishments that they can redeem in the store for their own holiday gift.
If you need more ideas, here’s a blog on six ways you can thank your employees.
Relieve Stress
Holiday stress is real, and many employees will not only be dealing with work stress during this time but family stress as well. Put your employees first and make sure they are being taken care of. Whether this means flexible work schedules, extra time off, encouraging wellness, or having everyone pitch in to help each other, communicate to your employees that you care for their well-being.
Give Back as a Group
Giving back to the community is a great way to encourage holiday spirit. Ask employees what charities they would like to support or have everyone vote on different options. Spreading holiday cheer as a team is a great way to grow team bonding.
How are you planning on celebrating the holidays with your team this year? Share in the comments!
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