SURVIVOR: The Game of One Foot in Front of the Other During December

During Christmas, it is not uncommon to experience financial pressures from debts, gifts and celebrations; family pressures due to hosting or attending gatherings (or a lack thereof). To add to the mounting social pressures, work pressures accumulate as New Year deadlines approach.

Protecting your mental health (and general wellbeing) is vital to your employer to ensure you are able to contribute creatively and productively; and, to ensure that you have the resources to get through the difficult times where your efforts and output (and let’s not forget satisfaction) may suffer.

Here are 3 tips to motivate you and safeguard your general 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 or a colleague feels sleep deprived, easily angered, anti-social, or generally and uncharacteristically negative, this may be a sign that the stress is becoming overwhelming. If people are reacting to you as if you are acting out of character, seek support and look for resources around you that you can use to your advantage. It’s normal to feel the need to seek support at these times so don’t hesitate in speaking up and finding help where you can if you feel overwhelmed.

2. Review workloads

Stress occurs when our demands exceed our resources. Quite simply, you may not have enough time or the resources to get the job done. Pay close attention to whether your efforts are sloppy or are being completed late, as this may occur due to under-staffing and over-loading rather than a lack of enthusiasm or your competence levels. Communicate these concerns with the team and where necessary, give clients advance notice that deadlines may alter during a resource-restricted period.

3. Seek feedback 

Seeking feedback is a great way to establish how you are performing. Even if you are sure that things are going well, it never hurts to ask and hear it from your managers. A simple word of appreciation can motivate and encourage anyone and, even constructive feedback can be positive for clarifying your role and tasks that are important. You don’t need to organise a long, formal feedback session, even just asking how you went on a project or task that you have just completed is enough. Feel free to talk with your employer about your concerns and inform then that their candid feedback and support could really help.

While Christmas is a stressful time of year for many, effective management through communicating with and supporting those around you can have a snowball effective to put the peace, love and joy (and put your productivity and satisfaction) back into the festive season!

You have to be kind to be kind – Employee wellbeing through the Holidays

The old saying “you have to be cruel to be kind” may not be the best advice around the holiday period. Research has found that employee stress and depression levels increase over the Christmas and New Year period. While we understand that giving everyone leave over this time is not always an option, there are ways in which you can support an employee’s wellbeing throughout the festive season. 

During Christmas, it is not uncommon to experience financial pressures from debts, gifts and celebrations; family pressures due to hosting or attending gatherings (or a lack thereof). To add to the mounting social pressures, work pressures accumulate as New Year deadlines approach.
The mental health (and general wellbeing) of you and your team is vital to ensure you are able to contribute creatively and productively, and avoid droning on to get through difficult times where your efforts and output (and let’s not forget satisfaction) may suffer. 

Here are 3 tips to motivate you and your team to safeguard general 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 for some employees. If a colleague (or yourself) appears sleep deprived, aggressive, anti-social, or negative, or may just appear down, this may be a sign that the stress they are experiencing is at an unreasonable level.  

If you see someone acting out of character for a long period of time, let them know you’ve noticed their behaviour is different and ask them how things are going. Be prepared to hear the response when you ask someone if they are ‘OK’, whether their response is positive or negative. They do not expect you to be able to fix their problems; all you need to do is listen as often people just need to talk something through. 

2. A little empathy or gratitude goes a long way
It cannot be overstated – a simple word of appreciation or understanding 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 or change their perspective. Go beyond sending an email - genuine communications are best done face-to-face; or, if you are competing with different locations, then a phone call is appropriate. 

3. If possible, review workloads
Stress occurs when our demands exceed our resources. Quite simply, staff may not have enough time or the resources to get the job done to the required standard. Pay close attention to whether work is being completed late or to a reduced standard than normal. Issues such as these may occur due to under-staffing and over-loading rather than a lack of enthusiasm or competence. Communicate these concerns with employees and investigate the cause of any issues. A good analysis to establish the root-cause of an issue is asking “why” 5 times to a response.

While Christmas is a stressful time of year for many, effective management through communicating with and supporting those around you can have a snowball effective to put the peace, love and joy (and the employee productivity and satisfaction) back into the festive season! 

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!

4 tips to handle pre-Christmas work stress

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 you and your team is vital to ensure you are able to contribute creatively and productively. It is also important to to get through difficult times where your efforts and output (and let’s not forget satisfaction) may suffer.

Here are 4 tips to motivate you and your team to safeguard general 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 a colleague (or yourself) appears sleep deprived, aggressive, anti-social, distracted or negative, this may be a sign that the stress is getting to them and their work.
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 things are going. It’s normal to feel the need to seek support at these times so don’t hesitate in speaking up and finding help where you can if you feel overwhelmed.

2.    Review workloads

Stress occurs when our demands exceed our resources. Quite simply, you may not have enough time or the resources to get the job done. Pay close attention to whether your efforts are sloppy or are being completed late, as this 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. If you feel this is a little out of your hands, talk with your employer about your concerns over general stress levels and that their candid feedback and support could really help.

4.     Make a grand example

If you feel yourself nearing burnt out, it will be difficult to ensure that others around you do 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 over communicating with and supporting those around you can have a snowball effective to put the peace, love and joy back into the festive season!