12 Ways to Support Your Employees This Holiday Season

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As we enter our second pandemic holiday season, it’s a great time for leaders to reflect on how well they’re supporting their workforce. Companies have certainly come a long way over the past year and a half, with many now offering mental health support, flexible work arrangements, and other ways to alleviate worker burnout.

However, the holidays are a source of added stress for many employees. They may be crunched to get all of their work done before taking time off, overwhelmed with shopping or making travel plans, dealing with children at home on their winter break, or experiencing more financial strain than normal. The holidays are also an especially challenging time for people who suffer from loneliness, depression, or other mental health issues.

It’s no surprise, then, that 84% of workers find the holiday season stressful and 88% say it’s the most stressful time of the year. Adding to this are concerns about COVID-19, which continue to be a source of anxiety for most people. In fact, those who are scared they’ll contract the virus are over two times more likely to report that they anticipate a stressful holiday season, compared to those who aren’t as worried.

Given these ongoing challenges, it’s more important than ever that you offer support and empathy for your employees during the holiday season. And this isn’t just the right thing to do — it can also help you retain your top talent during what’s likely to be a critical period for your business. That’s because not only are we in the midst of the “great resignation,” but we’re also approaching the new year, which many people see as the ideal time for a fresh start.

Realistically, there’s a good chance that some of your employees are contemplating leaving your company over the next few months. After all, January and February is the best time of the year to look for a new job. Hiring managers have received their new hiring budgets, and they’re often behind on filling roles because of the holiday break. In addition, employees know that it makes sense to wait until after they’ve received their annual pay increase to leave their job, so they can use their new higher salary as a negotiating tool.

The key takeaway is that now is not the time to dial back your support for your team members. In fact, the success of your business in 2022 and beyond could hinge on how well you help your employees navigate the holidays this year — whether you lead with empathy and kindness, or whether you instead drive people to the conclusion that they’d be better off working for another employer.

In this week’s article, I offer 12 ways to support your workers this holiday season, with a special focus on remote employees. It can be more difficult to pick up on the stress of your virtual team members, but they’re in need of your support just as much as your on-site staff, if not more.

Want to read the full article? You can access it in the?Workplace Intelligence Insider Archives. To receive the new edition every Monday morning,?subscribe?for free.

And don’t forget to join the conversation below — let me know how your company supports employees during the holidays.