The holiday season is when most people spend extra time with family and take in a holiday party or two. It also raises some questions at work, including: What should the tone be at the office this time of year? How should the organization approach the holidays?
Time to Say Thank You?
I moved into a co-op building in New York City earlier this year after purchasing my first home, a Manhattan studio apartment in the downtown area.
Ominously, I was told by the realtor who sold me the apartment, who lives down the hall from me (in a much bigger apartment) that she spent as much as $2,000 last year in holiday bonuses for the building’s staff.
I’m hoping that spend was based on how large a resident’s apartment is, or how many shares of the building the resident owns.
Nevertheless, I most likely will write checks for each of the staff members in accordance with whatever the building’s management recommends for a shareholder of a studio apartment.
I wonder if organizations have the same attitude that I do—that regardless of the difficulty of the expense, this is the time of year to say thank you to employees whose salaries are lower than they should be.
The Holiday Hush
According to a recent Forbes article by Bryan Robinson, Ph.D., some workplace trends experts expect it to be a “hushed” holiday in which employees keep quiet rather than being overtly celebratory.
“Hushed” in the workplace context also means that employees may take time off for the holidays without noting it as such.
They may take time off that really isn’t time off because they continue to check e-mails and respond to messages and phone calls because they don’t want to use vacation days, or don’t feel they can manage taking time off due to their workload.
If employees are taking that tone, my guess is that they are taking a cue from the company’s leaders.
Those managers and executives may be choosing not to acknowledge the upcoming holidays and need for time off ironically because they are trying to help employees.
“’Managers are prioritizing their team’s needs and partaking in the ‘hushed hybrid’ trend to maintain morale, boost productivity, and retain staff who are engaged and productive despite their work location,’” Robinson quotes Luck Dookchitra, vice president of people at Leapsome, as saying.
Robinson then summarized Dookchitra’ s advice that “employers should focus on the value their people bring, the goals they achieve and the contributions they make—not whether they work from home or in the office.”
Don’t Sweep the Holidays Under the Table
Your executives and managers may think they’re being kind by not talking about the holidays, and, therefore, not enforcing the need for documented time off and invitations to in-person parties. However, that is not so.
The kinder approach would be to openly give employees their choice of Christmas or New Year’s week off without having to use vacation days, provided they fulfill their work obligations in advance, or are able to fulfill their obligations after they return (no essential missed deadlines).
Years ago, my sister worked for a company that simply was closed for business every Christmas week.
It can cause stress trying to get work done ahead of time, but there’s something nice knowing that no one is going to be calling you about work Christmas week (or New Year’s week if you choose that week to be closed instead), and that you don’t have to use vacation days.
It shows appreciation for employees when the company not only tells them they don’t have to use their vacation days, but that they want everyone to be able to enjoy leisure time during the holiday season.
Sweeping the holidays under the rug, and pretending this time of year isn’t happening, does the opposite—it sends a message that the company would rather ignore the holidays than use it as a time to show employees how much they are appreciated.
Holiday Parties Are an Expense, But Worth It
I remember the downward trajectory of holiday parties at a company I was employed by years ago.
The first year of my employment, the company rented an event space, where there was a lavish buffet and all-you-can-drink open bar. There was a dance floor and DJ.
The second year of my employment, the same event space was rented, but there was no buffet, dance floor, or DJ. Instead, servers circulated with trays of hors d’oeuvres. The open bar still existed at full throttle, though.
The third year saw a demotion to a less-fancy, more economical event space.
The fourth year, there was a potluck event in our office space. So not only did the company not invest in an event space, but it expected the employees to supply their own food. Meanwhile, the company as a whole brought in more than $1 billion annually.
The way you treat the holidays, whether with a nice holiday party, generous bonuses, or complimentary time off, counts. Employees take note of what you do—and don’t bother to do—for them this time of year.
How does your company show employees appreciation during the holiday season? Is this year going to be different?