4 ways to reduce pre-Christmas stress for your staff

Christmas should be a time of peace, joy and love. However, if you’re not a child with endless holidays and gifts to look forward to, the lead up to this holiday can be a stressful time of year. Financial pressures from debts, gifts and celebrations tend to increase at this time. Family gatherings (or lack thereof) can lead to unhealthy anxiety, loneliness or conflict. To add to the mounting social pressures, work pressures accumulate as New Year deadlines approach.

The mental health (and general wellbeing) of your employees is vital to ensure their longevity as contributing and creative members of your team. It is also important to help your staff get through difficult times so your efforts and output (and let’s not forget employee satisfaction) do not suffer.

Here are 4 tips to motivate your team and safeguard their mental health at this time of year:

1.    Keep an eye out for red flags 

While it is normal to experience a degree of pressure and frustration at this time of year, it’s important to note when this may become a larger problem. If you notice that an employee appears sleep deprived, aggressive, anti-social, distracted or negative, it may be a sign that they are under an unreasonable amount of pressure. If you see someone acting out of character for a long period of time, let them know you’ve noticed that they’ve seemed a bit down and ask them how they are. 

2.    Review workloads

Stress occurs when our demands exceed our resources. Quite simply, your employees may not have enough time or the resources to get the job done. Pay close attention to establish whether the work that is being produced meets the standards that are normally achieved. This reduction in performance may occur due to under-staffing and over-loading rather than a lack of enthusiasm or competence. Communicate these concerns with the team and where necessary, give clients advance notice that deadlines may alter during a resource-restricted period.

3.    Say thank you

It cannot be overstated – a simple word of appreciation can motivate and encourage anyone. You don’t need to organise an elaborate event to thank work colleagues, as genuine personal encouragement can be enough to brighten their day. 

4.    Lead by example

If you feel yourself becoming burnt out, it will be difficult to ensure your team does not follow suit. Take some time to rest, spend time with family and engage in relaxing activities. Seek professional advice if needed and take some time over the New Year period to evaluate your life goals.


While Christmas is a stressful time of year for many, effective management of your staff, communicating openly with them and supporting those around you can have a snowball effect to put the peace, love and joy back into the workplace leading up to the festive season!