During the holiday season, we always have much more clients renting massage chairs for their employees to ease the workplace stress. The holidays are supposed to be a happy time, but all research and surveys show that the holiday season is actually the most stressful time for workers! Here are the top things that Americans dread about Christmas, according to a survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center:
- Crowds and long lines
- Gaining weight
- Getting into debt
- Gift shopping
- Traveling
- Seeing certain relatives
- Seasonal music
- Disappointing gifts
- Having to attend holiday parties or events
- Having to be nice
- Holiday tipping
Managing and preventing the buildup of stress in workplace is important to employers, as the stress has decreased employees’ productivity. And there is one good factor about holiday stress: it’s highly predictable. The holidays come around at the same time every year. This offers employers a unique opportunity to ease the stress. By listening to our corporate clients, we find the following 5 techniques are proven practical and effective to handle holiday season workplace stress. 1.
Start holiday planning and scheduling well in advance. Plan your workload and employees’ holiday schedules ahead of the season. Ask team members to provide their leave requests and seasonal schedules as soon as they can. This gives people a degree of control over their time. 2.
Make your expectations clear. Be proactive with your team. Get a shared holiday calendar established early and set forth the hours and tasks that you will expect from each team member during the holidays. Make clear what your expectations are for employees and this should help your team sort out deadlines and coverage plans. 3.
Offer flexible schedules. Offering employees flex time so they can run their holiday errands. This will help to ensure employees stay on task while they’re at the office. Doing your best to accommodate reasonable requests for changes will help your employees cruise through the holiday season with a minimum of fuss and worry. 4.
Provide a ‘Relaxing and Recharge’ space in the office. Sometimes people just need 10 to 15 minutes to relax, re-group and rejuvenate. Providing a 24/7 accessible massage chair wellness lounge where employees can spend couple of minutes with a great massage will dramatically help reduce workplace stress and burnout. Employees will feel refreshed and re-energized to tackle the rest of the day. 5.
Schedule holiday events out of the holiday season, like January. Many employees, clients, and business partners suffer from too many parties. By the time January hits, people have gotten some rest, life has quieted down, and it is great time to engage employees to look forward to the future. We always like to share what we have learned in real life from our over 500 clients because we believe that we can make a better work life together!
So what’s your biggest challenge or solution at workplace during holiday season?
