5 Ways to Keep Employees Engaged During the Holidays

How the holiday season can affect employees

With its unique mix of distraction, anticipation and pressure, the holiday season can impact businesses in several ways. 

• The holidays can boost creativity and motivation. The season’s excitement can spur positive emotions, boosting creativity and innovation. “I love the holiday spirit and the positivity it brings both to life and work. It brings energy, and energy brings creativity and motivation,” observed Andrew Filev, CEO of Wrike, a project management service.
• The holidays may bring sadness. Filev also acknowledges the holiday season comes with more than gift exchanges and large feasts; it can include families grieving their departed loved ones and nostalgia for the past. Managers should keep these feelings in mind when engaging office staff. “It’s important for managers to have compassion and empathy and to acknowledge that the holidays are an emotional season, both with positive energy and also people missing their families,” he said. “It may not be ideal that those feelings happen to occur during one of the most important times for businesses, but that’s the reality.”
• The holidays bring distractions. As a manager, socializing and celebrating with employees can be fun, but keeping everyone on task can also be challenging. Filev noted that ending the year with the completion of a big project or milestone can be exceptionally motivating. He advised planning your final quarter with a big project the team can rally around. Furthermore, it helps if it’s a project that will make your company more competitive in the following year. “If the whole team is aligned and excited about ending the year with a celebration and starting the next year strong, it’s going to help them convert the fun holiday spirit into having a great time at work too.” Filev said.

How to keep engagement high during the holidays

Here are a few ways to reduce workplace stress during the holidays, keep your team’s momentum high throughout the season and finish the year strong.

1. Celebrate successes to boost employee engagement.

Brian Sutter, director of marketing at Advantis Medical Staffing, advises that positive yet simple employee appreciation strategies like thank-you cards, phone calls and congratulatory emails acknowledging exceptional performance can yield high employee engagement ROI. 

If the accomplishment is much more significant, you can treat the individual or entire team to an impromptu get-together for lunch or even drinks at a local pub. You can also celebrate the holidays by taking the team to a festive seasonal movie.

2. Set challenging goals to keep your team on track.

Setting achievable business goals is an excellent way to keep employees and team members on track. “By setting the bar high but still within reach, everyone will be striving to achieve [their] set of goals,” Sutter advised. “Make sure goals are clearly communicated and in writing so employees can refer back to the list as necessary.”

Øyvind Birkenes, CEO of Airthings, notes that his team has “very clear goals, and what I see is that people are even more productive during the holidays to complete the major projects we’ve been working on throughout the year.”

Filev advised acting as a coach instead of a manager: “Your job isn’t to tell people what to do; it’s to put people in a position to be successful. That means offering support and carrying some of the load yourself.”

3. Encourage time off during the holidays.

The holidays incorporate travel, family obligations, parties and a need to decompress after a year of working hard.

“I absolutely encourage [employees] to take time off to be with their families during the holiday season. It’s critical to put work aside for some time and recharge the batteries,” Birkenes said. “I always encourage employees to plan holidays well in advance so there is always something to look forward to.”

Flexibility is crucial during the holiday season. “In general, make sure people have the flexibility to work around families and holiday needs,” Filev advised. “If someone needs to leave work to see their kids’ Christmas play at school, be flexible. Families support your business all year. You can be flexible around the holidays.” 

Staying unplugged and offline while out of the office is essential for employees and managers. Developing and implementing holiday time-off policies shows you care about a positive work-life balance and boundaries. Additionally, employees are more likely to return well-rested and ready to focus on work.

4. Keep employees in the loop to promote engagement.

When employees feel they’re playing an active role in their company’s development and progress, they’re less likely to push back on directives from the leadership team. Additionally, employees will often contribute insightful information or ideas that could positively impact your business’s goals. 

Sutter suggests scheduling a short-but-sweet weekly or monthly companywide meeting to keep everyone on the same page.

3. Create a positive atmosphere to boost motivation.

Creating an atmosphere of acceptance, camaraderie and equity will boost company morale. Employees will feel more motivated to achieve their individual goals at work and collaborate with their colleagues across the office or company.  

“You’d be surprised at how hardworking one can be when they walk into an office every day and feel welcome,” Sutter noted. 

When it comes to the holidays, positivity is key; remember, your staff takes cues from you, so be sure the right attitude starts at the top. “To get the right mood, we do simple things like offering gingerbread cookies by the coffee machine and arranging a Christmas dinner for all employees and their significant others,” Birkenes added. “I [also] always encourage employees to plan holidays well in advance so there is always something to look forward to.”

Managers can grow employee engagement, even during the holidays

The holidays bring both joy and stress to the workplace. Consider how you can best celebrate success, set goals, encourage time off, maintain internal feedback loops and create a positive environment in your company. Leaders who see the holidays as an opportunity for engagement – instead of a series of unavoidable distractions – will inspire motivation and focus in their employees during the holidays and into the new year.

Shannon Gausepohl contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.