5 Ways to Keep the Grinch from Stealing Holiday Spirit at Work

Regular readers likely won't be surprised to know that Laura Schroeder's post yesterday struct a chord with me. I encourage you to read the post for a good story of a boss understanding precisely what an employee needs at this time of year.

That got me thinking about what might be the more typical employee experience at this time of year. Companies invest a good deal of money in well intentioned, but poorly planned employee rewards or bonuses at this time of year. The result of the lack of foresight - employees feeling like the Grinch stole their holiday cheer.

But it's in your power to stop the Grinch. Just remember these five lessons of holiday joy for employees:

1. Give employees a bit more latitude in their schedules. Everyone is harried this time of year with gifts to purchase, trips to see family to plan, kids' school programs to attend. When employees come to you with a reasonable request for an extra hour or two time off to take care of these needs, give it to them graciously. Be generous and go so far not to count it against their vacation or paid-time-off account.
2. Turn a blind eye to extra time spent at the water cooler or coffee pot. In these last days leading up to Christmas (and likely worse next week between Christmas and New Years), employees will spend more time catching up with their colleagues on holiday plans, sharing family holiday cards, and the like. Let them. It's an excellent opportunity to build relationships between employees, which influences teamwork and certainly can speed projects along in the new year.
3. Don't give perishable gifts - especially if you don't also offer a way to refrigerate those gifts throughout the day. Giving employees turkeys or hams at Christmas is bad enough, but given fresh turkeys or hams, and then expecting employees to store them under their desks or in their cars for the day, is simply throwing your money away.
4. Do give employees the gift they deserve most - your appreciation and esteem for a year's worth of hard work and achievement. Like in Laura's post from yesterday, take the day to write a detailed note or message of appreciation, calling out specifically ways the person helped you, the team, and the company throughout the year. Make it personal and meaningful, and I guarantee it will be a gift they treasure.
5. Give employees a break from all non-essential duties during the holiday week. Frankly employees working the week between Christmas and New Years are likely not as focused or engaged as we'd like anyway. Acknowledge the natural distractions and give employees the gift of relieveing them from all but the most necessary, customer facing work.

It doesn't take a lot of effort or cost a lot of money to spread cheer among your employees this holiday season. Some might argue that all of my suggestions cost money, if only in lost work. Let's be honest with each other. The work wasn't getting done anyway. You've just formalized this by giving permission and telling employees in a subtle, kind way, it's your gift to them. Believe me, the return in employee gratitude and loyalty for your gesture is worth it.

What other ways can we keep the Grinch at bay?

As Globoforce’s Head of Strategic Consulting, Derek Irvine is an internationally minded management professional with over 20 years of experience helping global companies set a higher ambition for global strategic employee recognition, leading workshops, strategy meetings and industry sessions around the world. His articles on fostering and managing a culture of appreciation through strategic recognition have been published in Businessweek, Workspan and HR Management. Derek splits his time between Dublin and Boston. Follow Derek on Twitter at @DerekIrvine.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Comments

[Jacque Vilet]

Good post Derek. Good advice. May all managers read this and take heed!