Celebrating the Holidays in the Workplace: Holidays can be an emotional time for some employees for a multitude of reasons.
You want to make sure everyone is included and doesn’t feel left out, nor at any time do you want them to feel forced to participate. Be respectful of specific religious beliefs and don’t in any way make them feel uncomfortable for not participating. On the other hand that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to celebrate. You may even want to include several in your planning. Include employees that don’t usually get to make decision for the company. This gives you an opportunity to build a deeper relationship with some of those employees that you don’t usually hear from.
Now as the holiday season is fast approaching we know we need to consider the decorations and office party planning. Does your company take them all to lunch somewhere, serve lunch at work or encourage a pot luck on a certain day? Whether you like it or not as am employer a holiday party is expected.
What can you do as an employer? There are several simple things organizations can do to promote an inclusive workplace. Some are starting to do a New Year’s Party instead of Holiday Party. You just need to let your employees know so they know you have just forgotten or they are not appreciated.
Keep in mind you need to always have an array of beverages for those who don’t drink alcohol.
When it comes to decorating consider using snowmen or snowflakes to make it more generic.
Avoid gift exchanges of any kind as they tend to leave at least one person feeling like they got the short end of the stick and the person giving the gift they thought was perfect feels criticized. These tend to cause hard feelings.
Make sure the date is shared in plenty of time so those participating or choosing not to can make arrangements. Keep in mind you will never have a perfect date for everyone. A salesperson may not be able to be there or a virtual employee can’t come in.. Set the date around the majority.
Again always allow employees to opt out of any party no matter the reason without them worrying about the security of their job or hard feelings. Make sure they know it is OK to bow out.
Now let’s get to the important part of holidays and that is being thankful for the amazing people you get to rub shoulders with on a daily basis.
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