How to Avoid Employee Burnout During the Holidays

Jobs are stressful. Holidays are stressful. When they’re combined, employees can easily feel burnt out. When your staff feels overwhelmed, their performance, attention to detail, and attitude can all decline. Avoid employee burnout this season with these helpful ideas.

Encourage employees to maintain a work-life balance

Employees often struggle to keep their life balanced, but that struggle is multiplied during the holiday season. While employees are working to meet deadlines, juggling multiple projects, and troubleshooting problems, they’re also trying to plan gatherings, menus, and travel schedules.

Help your employees out during the holidays by giving them a little extra time off, if possible, along with stress-reducing events to keep their priorities in check.

You can easily book a virtual class like Meditation & Stress Management or Stress Busters for the Workplace on Offsyte. The classes are led by a trained instructor via Zoom, so it’s easy for employees to join at their workstations, in the conference room, or from their home office.

Create a stress-free space

Where can your employees go when they need a minute away from ringing phones and flooded inboxes? Create a space where employees can go for mini breaks. Beyond a “break room,” this space should fit your company culture.

Maybe it’s a place for solitude with some comfy chairs, a TV, and a fridge stocked with healthy snacks or maybe it’s a place where small teams can go and listen to holiday music and have a 15-minute dance party to release stress.

Get your employees’ input on the space, its use, and its design.

Call in a magician or a comedian

Sometimes the best way to unwind is with a little entertainment. Get the crew together for a magic show (yes, even adults like magic) or a stand-up comedy routine.

The Illusionist Online: World Class Magic, for example, is a virtual show with a popular magician who blends sleight of hand with storytelling, music, and comedy to create unforgettable moments of wonder.

Rather than watching a magic show, why not learn how the tricks are done? Learn the Art of Magic from a Pro gives your team an inside look at how some of the most common tricks are performed.

If you’re looking for laughs, Competitive Comedy Mashup or A Professional Comedian Walks Into a Zoom are both guaranteed mood lifters. Join these comedians on Zoom for a laugh-till-you-hurt session.

Have fewer meetings or take them on the go

During the holidays, when everyone’s mind is on shopping, traveling and family reunions, meetings can add stress. Consider reducing the number of meetings you have, if possible.

If you can’t skip meetings, shake them up a bit. Try 15-minute walking meetings where you walk around outside or walk around the building. Try meeting in a different room or host a meeting at a local restaurant and order a meal before you start talking about deadlines and project details.

Employee burnout is a real concern, especially around the holidays. Help them manage the stress of the season by prioritizing their well-being. When you put your employees first, your company wins.