How Holiday Stress May Be Impacting Your Workforce (& What You Can Do About It)

Chris Goodwin, SHRM-SCP
 

Holiday stress is something everyone seems to deal with at some point during the weeks and months leading up to the winter celebrations. There are a number of reasons the holidays are more difficult for some than for others; trying to wrap up year-end deadlines during an otherwise-shortened month, financial obligations, family obligations, travel, and all the rest can put pressure on everyone.

Other Individuals may experience deeper stress reactions as the holidays approach. For those who’ve recently lost a loved one, the festive atmosphere may underscore that grief. Long-term financial stress and Covid-related issues cast a cloud over the holidays for even the most celebratory among us.

No matter the issue, however, the overwhelming anxiety and stress that come along this time of year have the potential to spill into the workplace causing a slow-down in production and other concerns. It’s essential to the continued success of your company for managers, supervisory staff, and HR to understand and identify seasonal stress impacting your workforce. 

This year, in particular, has seen the phenomenon known as “The Great Resignation” and as work models change employees may be taking on even more responsibility. This upsets the work-life balance and adds to the stress of the season. Here are ways you can identify holiday stress among your employees and ways you can help your employees survive the overwhelm of the season.

Recognizing Holiday Stress

Stress, when left unmanaged, can become critical. Unchecked stress manifests itself in many different ways, some physical (stomach disorders, chronic headaches, hypertension, insomnia, chest pain just to name a few) and some emotional (anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating, for example). Stress causes some individuals to introduce unhealthy coping methods into their lives. 

All of these effects of stress certainly impact their performance. That’s why it’s vital for management and HR to learn how to recognize if a coworker or associate is battling holiday stress. There are some key signs you can look for that indicate your employees are potentially dealing with stress and anxiety that goes beyond the norm for the holidays.

• Change in appearance or hygiene: Has your normally dapper associate suddenly started to show up looking unkempt? Everyone has off days but if this isn’t typical and seems to repeat it could be a sign of some serious holiday stress.

• Tension with coworkers: Everyone experiences a little tension with their associates throughout the year. Workloads perceived as inequitable or coworkers who may appear to be favored over others cause hostility from time to time. If there’s no apparent reason and your employee appears to lash out at their colleagues, holiday stress is a likely culprit. 

• Lack of focus and concentration: A formerly responsible employee who misses deadlines, is suddenly not “on their game” or otherwise shirks their responsibility is likely stressed out. 

• Change in quality of work: An employee who is dealing with anxiety and depression brought on by the season may simply lose the ability to care about the quality of their work. 

• Presenteeism: Is your employee there but not really “there”? A loss of productivity due to exhaustion (from insomnia) or illness (as in the above-mentioned physical manifestations of stress) indicates an issue that’s probably stress-related.
   
• Absenteeism: Although a tough one to gauge, as the holiday season coincides with cold and flu season, an employee who has so far demonstrated a good work ethic but has begun to take sick days or not show up could have stress issues as the root cause. This is also a sign of depression that needs to be recognized. Absenteeism could be the result of an unhealthy coping mechanism. A big red flag that needs to be addressed with concern.

 

All of these signs indicate some level of debilitating holiday stress that most certainly impacts your workforce. With early intervention, a knowledgeable HR professional or member of management will be able to find the right resources to help the employee deal with holiday stress before it becomes too much to bear. 

 

Helping Your Workforce Deal with Holiday Stress

In addition to being aware of your employees’ struggles, it may be helpful to introduce an employee wellness program, if you don’t already have one in place. Provide a Zoom wellness session for your workforce, invite employees to a special health awareness day with fitness instructors, meditation class or simply a healthy foods buffet. Anything you can do to help your workforce navigate the upcoming holidays with minimal stress is a boon for you and your employees. 

Be mindful that not everyone celebrates the same holidays. Honor the individual employee’s wishes regarding their holiday schedule. Schedules become tight for everyone at this time of year. Be flexible with scheduling. Company holiday parties should be held during work hours and employees allowed to opt-out if necessary. Insert more “casual dress days” into employees' work week. Here are some additional ways to give stressed-out workers a break.

• Meet with those who have deadlines looming and do what you can to alleviate the additional stress the deadlines may be causing. Everyone needs a little grace right now. 

• Motivate your workforce to come together as a team. Be vigilant for signs that someone may be saddled with more of the work while another is taking time away. Or for those employees who are shouldering the extra responsibility of a former employee, cut them some slack. Maybe connect with a temp service. 

• Provide ways to educate employees regarding their finances. Nearly everyone has felt the impact of the pandemic financially. Assist your employees by introducing a financial wellness program that can help them prioritize expenses and budget for holiday expenses. 

• Provide “mental health breaks” in addition to regular breaks. Allow your employees to go for a walk outside or practice a quick yoga session in the break room. Sometimes a bit of stretching or a breath of fresh-even if it’s cold air helps you refocus.  

• This time of year, viruses run rampant among kids as well as adults. If your employee is dealing with a sick child on top of holiday stress, or if your employee is sick themselves, insist on a sick day. Not only will you ease some of their stress but you’ll protect your healthy employees and ensure illness doesn’t leave you short-staffed. 

• See to your own health as well. If you’re experiencing feelings of overwhelm and anxiety due to holiday stress, try to get ahead of it. Talk to someone. Go for a walk. Meditate or binge-watch a comedy. Anything to pull yourself out of a seasonal “funk”.

 

Show You Care 

This time of year, especially, your workforce is juggling a lot. Between the deadlines at work and busy activities at home, finding a work-life balance that provides downtime may be impossible. Find ways to make the holidays enjoyable for your employees when they are present. Provide resources for additional help for those who are dealing with deeper levels of stress this season. Offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help those who need it. When you show you care you make an impression, not just during the holidays but throughout the year.