Employees often face additional challenges as the calendar year changes. According to research, half of UK employees describe December as their most stressful month. Work deadlines, social commitments and cost of living are all factors that affect our well-being. The transition back to work is also difficult. Post-holiday depression and pressure to catch up can make the process even more difficult.
Style=”font-weight 400 ;”>” On the one hand, employees are under pressure to finish up their end-of-year projects and tie up loose ends. But on the other hand, they have to find motivation to return back to work after the holiday break. It is therefore important that employers support the wellbeing of their employees during the holiday season, says Lesley Cooper. She founded WorkingWell and is co-author of Brave New Leader.
As we near the end of the year, Cooper shares her top strategies to help employers reduce stress and ensure employee well-being during this holiday season.
1. Manage their personal finances
In both life and work, pressure is constant. While it can be a catalyst for success, it can also be overwhelming, especially during times of increased stress and workload, like the end of the calendar year. Leaders need to demonstrate behaviours that encourage employees to be able to handle pressure in a way that suits them and speak up when they feel that demands are beyond their capacity to cope.
It is also important to create conditions that enable employees to manage their energy resources effectively and, in doing so, increase their resilience and capability. It includes, but is not restricted to, encouraging regular breaks to recharge energy, encouraging boundaries between work life and personal time, offering flexible working arrangements and encouraging employees fully disconnect after hours.
2. Encourage a culture that promotes psychological safety
It is important to improve workplace psychological safety in order for people to feel confident speaking up and taking breaks without being viewed as lazy. It is not difficult to create a culture that encourages openness, inclusion and trust. However, it does require leadership commitment and participation. It allows people to let go of the mask and be themselves.
Employees can only then put forward ideas, try out new approaches to help them or say that they just need some downtime to recuperate. In order to ask for assistance with the end-of-year work or to seek support in trying to regain motivation when returning to the workplace, employees must feel safe.
3. Encourage realistic expectations
Setting realistic goals in the last few weeks of the year is another way to avoid stress at the last minute. Due to the tight deadlines and the distractions of the holidays, many employees are likely to be working. Employers can also help their team focus on the most critical projects, and communicate clearly what must be done and what is able to wait.
Encourage employees to prioritize and complete high-impact tasks as soon as they return to work. It can be counterproductive to jump into work right away and cause stress. Focusing on the most important things will help you manage your workload, progress steadily, and prevent feeling overwhelmed.
4. Access to professional support
Leaders can’t be expected to have all the answers in addressing workplace issues. They can listen to employees and provide information about available support. This is a crucial role for providing access to counselling and support services. It is important to provide employees with a non-judgmental, safe space in which they can discuss their problems. Support can come from colleagues who are trusted or from professional therapists whose services must be easily accessible. Leaders can cultivate a culture that is caring by offering these resources.
Employers must understand that wellbeing is achieved when mental, physical and social health are all in harmony. To protect their employees in challenging times such as the holiday season, employers must create psychologically-safe workplaces. This will allow individuals to manage personal energy and get the support they require. This should go beyond challenging times and become the foundation for wellbeing strategies throughout the year,” Cooper concludes.
HR News published the original version of this article How employers can support employee well-being during the festive season?.
