5 Ways Leaders Can Help Employees Connect and Celebrate This Holiday Season

In normal years, celebrating the holidays in the workplace is a fun way for employees to blow off steam, bond, and celebrate the achievements of the past year. The festive spirit is contagious, people are bringing in cookies they baked, sharing corporate gifts they received, and then coming together for holiday lunches and parties. But what about this year? Work teams have been scattered, forced to interact only through Zoom calls for months on end. Many employees are continuing to feel stretched between work and home life. As a leader, I see that my team is missing each other’s energy and connection, but to ask for social Zoom time in the evening is becoming increasingly difficult as everyone wants – and should be able to – switch off after the workday ends. At the same time, there are plenty of employees who are craving more connections and gatherings and missing the holiday festivities they looked forward to in previous years.

So how do we as leaders navigate this strange new reality, making sure we give employees chances to connect and celebrate the season, while also being mindful of all the different stress points they’re contending with? Here are a few ideas:

1. Plan some (optional) social virtual events. It’s important to give employees the opportunity to come together, even if only virtually, and feel that sense of festivity and celebration with one another. But it’s also crucial to understand that low attendance does not mean lack of engagement, it just means some people are choosing to manage their time differently. Make it clear to employees that they are not expected to attend social events if they have other commitments to family and home life. Reassure them that they will not be penalized for not attending, showing up late, or leaving early.
2. Encourage time off to help employees cope with stress before the holidays. It has been often reported by employees that what they most want for the holidays from their employers is a little extra time off. It is even more true for many employees this year, when people are looking forward to spending time with their families without the constant demands of homeschooling, Zoom calls, and other work-life balance issues.
3. Ensure that managers are having wellbeing check-ins, so people feel supported. Leading up to the holidays, it’s imperative for managers to continue check-ins with employees to get a sense of their workloads and ensure that they will be able to take much-needed time off without worrying about work pressures. Client relationship managers should also feel empowered to reinforce the company holiday closures with clients, setting expectations and boundaries where necessary and making it clear that employees will be unplugging from work to spend time at home with families and friends.
4. Reimagine social causes and charitable giving. Many employees look forward to giving back to their communities during the holiday season and companies are often eager to take the role of facilitating these charitable activities. But the needs of the community have likely changed significantly this year, so businesses should actively seek input from teams as to what causes employees feel strongly about. At Jackman we are currently figuring out how to pivot what would have been an in-person food drive for food banks so that employees can still participate remotely.
5. Give personal holiday care packages. Every employee is unique – some have families, some are single, some are foodies, some are sports fans. This year, we are working to develop a more tailored approach to holiday care packages for employees and adding a very personal touch from senior leadership as well in the form of a handwritten note and other items such as homemade cookies. Make sure to also give employees some options for days to pick-up their packages, allowing for social distancing and flexibility around their holiday plans.

There’s no question the holidays this year will be quite different for almost everyone, but with a little extra care and thoughtfulness, leaders can make sure that employees still feel appreciated and have opportunities to celebrate with each other. Getting the holidays right for employees is important as it can set the tone for 2021, allowing people to come back to work feeling relaxed and motivated to help achieve business goals together.

Written by Sandra Duff.