Cut Them Some Holiday Slack

The holidays are here and some stress can come with them. Sure, it is self-induced stress, as we do a lot to make other people happy…buying gifts, throwing parties, meeting for dinner, traveling, whatever. Though the majority of people in Asia practice a religion other than Christianity, Christmas is still a big deal; after all, the decorations have been up since the end of October in many places. And of course, New Year’s celebrations always seem big and loud no matter what faith you practice. You need to realize that regardless of whether you like this season or not (“paging Mr Scrooge…”), your employees may have other things on their minds right now. So cut ’em a little slack.

Consider giving your employees a little extra time off at this time of year. Give them a chance to buy some gifts, pick out a tree, decorate the house, or go grocery shopping. Ask yourself if there is really any reason people need to be working on Christmas Eve. Or December 31st? This is not to suggest simply shutting down your firm, but merely giving people a little extra personal time if it does not lead to some critical failure for your company.

If you think about it, a lot of time spent at work right now might not actually be spent working. So how about making a deal with your employees: you will let them take some extra personal time, and in return, when they are at work they’re really working. No more shopping online, no more addressing Christmas cards, but instead, doing the job you pay them to do. Sound fair?

You will often find that if you give people a little extra leeway when they need it, they’ll put in some extra effort the rest of the time. They tend to be motivated to work for you if they know you appreciate what they do the other 11 months of the year, and by giving them some freedom now when they can use it, you also let them know you trust their judgement and professionalism.

Or, you could decide to just to stick with the regular workload and expect people to do their own stuff on their own time. But beware…you are likely to be visited by three ghosts…