The holidays are supposed to be a time to celebrate with friends and family, but they can also coincide with demanding year-end reporting, performance reviews, and deadlines.  Add in trying to find the right gift for the office swap, the perfect outfit for the company holiday party, and making sure you get your online orders in on Cyber Monday, and the holidays can be very stressful.  

Laura Poisson, Senior Vice President at ClearRock, Inc., a leadership development, and executive coaching firm, offers the following five tips to manage workplace stress and anxiety during the holidays. 

1. Help where you can.  We know the holidays are coming.  It’s not a surprise.  Ask employees what you can do to help reduce their stress.  Ask if they would like to postpone the company party until January.  If you are hosting a pot luck lunch, ask if people would rather have pizza brought in so no one has to cook.  Perhaps, you can give everyone one hour on Cyber Monday to go online and shop so they don’t feel like they have to sneak screen time to get the deal on the gift their child really wants at a price they don’t want to miss.
2. Be generous with "thank you."  People are often extending themselves at this time of year, make sure you are going out of your way to notice their good work and say thank you.  Also, be aware of anyone that may need an extra word of encouragement or some additional support like employees who have lost a loved one this year or those with little or no family in the area.  Making sure they know you care can go a long way in retaining employees.
3. Remain visible.  Don’t confine yourself to your office and make employees wonder if changes are about to happen … again.  As with any other time of the year, managers need to show interest in what’s on employees’ minds through individual face-to-face meetings, regular staff meetings, walking around the workplace, and after-hours get-togethers.
4. Involve employees in decisions.  Are you decorating the office?  Choosing a charity to make a donation instead of buying gifts for your clients?  Hosting a toy drive?  Ask employees to get involved and let them select which charities you will support so they will feel empowered and engaged.
5. Encourage time off.  Encourage people to take advantage of that with a vacation day or a 1/2 day Friday to do their holiday shopping, decorate their house, get their baking done, or just relax and enjoy the season.  They will likely come back in a better frame of mind and be more productive.  
 

About ClearRock  
ClearRock, Inc., headquartered in Boston, is a leadership development, executive coaching, and outplacement firm, recognized for bringing best-in-class offerings to the coaching process since 2000. With offices in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, ClearRock offers developmental coaching for high-potential managers and executives; new-leader coaching for newly hired or recently promoted managers and leaders; performance coaching to help managers and executives become more effective; and outplacement coaching through a combination of a “high touch” career transition assistance and comprehensive “high tech” resources. For more information, visit www.clearrock.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Laura Poisson and Ellie Eckhoff
ClearRock Inc.
(617) 217-2811
laura@clearrock.com
ellie@clearrock.com