The holidays are often a busy, stressful time for everyone. As a Human Resources professional, your main professional goal is to ensure the happiness of your organization’s employees. For example, making sure they have the advice and resources to thrive. So, even though this time of year can be hectic, here are some simple ways to make sure your team is happy during the holidays.
As you know, happy employees perform better, both in their personal lives and professional lives. The numbers say:
– Happy employees are more productive. Employees that are satisfied with their job are 13% more productive. Imagine if all your team members were 13% more productive!
– 46% of employees would accept another job offer if the opportunity arose. To foster loyalty and decrease turnover, offer excellent benefits, especially during the holidays.
Your organization’s employees are special. They make your organization who you are! Honoring employees for their hard work throughout the holiday season not only benefits your employees, but also your organization. Keep reading for a few simple, yet impactful, ways on how to do that.
How to keep employees happy during the holidays
1. Encourage employees to use their Paid Time Off (PTO).
It’s a busy time of the year. Juggling children, extended family, cooking, cleaning, traveling, and shopping for presents is not easy. Plus, employees are often struggling with the feeling that they’re not doing “enough” at their job. They may feel pressure to continually show up to work, even when they could use their rightfully-earned PTO.
As an HR team, you can step in and encourage employees to use their PTO. Ensure them this is what their PTO is for, and that taking time to value things out of work is part of the culture at your organization.
2. Promote employee benefits that will keep the team healthy.
An unhealthy employee is an unhappy person. Throughout the holiday season, highlight benefits that keep your employees healthy!
It’s flu season, and the COVID-19 pandemic is still here. Consider offering flu and COVID-19 vaccines to your team. Make it convenient and simple for them to put their health first.
Another option is to support and encourage physical activity. For example, you could provide memberships to employees for virtual workout classes. You could encourage your team to take walking meetings. You can offer a healthy holiday lunch or healthy snacks throughout the season.
However you can help your employees focus on your health, do it! Sometimes your employees just need your guidance to help them fit exercise and other healthy habits into their daily lives.
3. Provide stress relief.
Have you noticed that on the days you’re really stressed, it feels impossible to focus? Besides making employees less productive, stress deteriorates their mental and physical health. Keep your team happy throughout the holiday season by providing stress relief.
One way to do this is by bringing in a mental health professional. This professional can teach your employees the importance of managing stress and how to do it.
If it works for your organization, you can also consider allowing flexible hours, allowing work-from-home options, and promoting positivity.
If you need help communicating with employees
To keep employees in the know and updated about your holiday plans to keep them happy, use a benefits education platform. LearnYour Benefits would love to be your go-to this holiday season (and every season) for helping benefits utilizing and understanding their benefits.
Now isn’t the time to go dark on your employees. If you need help reaching them, we’re here for you. Request a demo today to understand how LearnYour Benefits elevates your HR communications.
