How to maintain your wellbeing over the holiday season
By Hannah Jameson and Evelyn Jackson (CEO)
With 2023 coming to a close, we can already feel the stress and busyness of the holiday season slowly approaching. For most of us, it ends up being countless lunches, dinners and catch-ups, resulting in December and even January feeling like a tsunami of stress. Many of us try to juggle attending events, doing our best at work, and remaining present with friends and family. In turn, all of these additional stressors in preparation for a break, affect our overall wellbeing. In addition, managers and employees try to get as much done as possible before the year closes out. Although we understand this is needed for productivity, it creates additional stressors for all.
Defining wellbeing and why it matters
Wellbeing is a word that’s often thrown around without any understanding or grasp of its real meaning. Wellbeing is more than how someone feels. It includes the mental state both at work and at home as a result of the experience we are leading, both the experience at work and at home. Employee wellbeing affects how employees perform at work, and it is impacted more than ever during the holiday season.
How to ensure your wellbeing is maintained over the holiday period
Ensuring your wellbeing over the holiday period is key to not only performing professionally but also remaining calm and keeping stress levels at bay so that you can enjoy your time off. Below are a range of actionable things you can do during this holiday period and encourage others to do the same.
Take time out
As much as the holiday season is filled with lunches, dinners and drinks, you need to take timeout for yourself ensuring you have additional days off to switch off and enjoy the break. Whether personal or work, as a society, we can often see taking a break as ‘lazy’ or ‘unproductive’ when the reality is that the more we ‘rest’ the more productive we can be. Actively seek to take a break by practising mindfulness, staying active and keeping a healthy eating and sleeping routine, take a break from digital communications and instead focus on what is around you. Taking a break is what we need to reset our minds, rejuvenate and in turn it is what enables us to accomplish more.
Have an end-of-year celebration with your team
As much as the end of the year can be viewed as an incoming load of stress, take the time to truly celebrate your organisation's achievements. Often, we’re moving on from one thing to the next, and we forget to stop and soak everything in. The end of a year is the chance to celebrate achievements within your organisation and celebrate people individually, thanking them personally for their efforts. Recognition is so important within business and can be a huge factor in morale and motivating people.
Have a plan for the new year
Towards the end of the year, it can be really easy to slow down within your organisation, and while we certainly think you should, you should slow down with a plan. The new year is your chance to plan and prepare for the year ahead. It’s your opportunity to brainstorm, come up with new ideas and get collaborative with potential projects. Going into the new year with a plan also helps to keep the team excited and motivated. By having something to look forward to, your team has a clear direction. Think of how you can reflect on the year that was, what can be learnt and the impact on the future.
Allow for increased flexibility
For employers, we encourage you to increase flexibility around the holiday season, not only for your staff but also for yourself. Encourage employees to share the workload so everyone can rest during the break. During the holidays, there are a million and one things on everyone's to-do list, so having that increased flexibility allows your staff to complete what they need to while also lowering additional stress.
Final Thoughts
The holidays are truly a chance for you to disconnect, fill up your cup and soak in time with your loved ones. It’s an opportunity that presents itself to be used however you see fit. We encourage you to do what works best for you this holiday season. Take the time to yourself or spend it with family and friends, get involved in your community by attending community events and once you sign off for the break, be sure to take advantage of it
.
How Corporate Crayon can help
At Corporate Crayon, we work with organisations to inspire work that matters. Contact us to find out more.