Have a Healthy, Stress-free Holiday Season
The holiday season can be very stressful for your employees. Everyone has extra demands put on them during this season; whether it is going to the Holiday Play at their child’s school, attending the many parties with friends or co-workers, the holiday shopping, decorating their house, and meeting the end-of-year deadlines at work. Add these responsibilities together and it is a recipe for stress.
There are several ideas or programs that you can institute in your workplace to let your employees know that you understand and you want to help.
- Promote and encourage the company sponsored Employee Assistance Program. The trained counselors can assist your employees with many facets such as stress management, depression, and anxiety.
- Offer on-site meditation classes or prepare a “quiet room” where employees can escape to for 10-15 minutes of relaxing music surrounded by a calming decoration of plants and aromatic scents. Have yoga mats available for stretching or meditation.
- Encourage daily walking breaks to battle the stress. Employees can meet at a designated location and walk together. For remote employees, they can join in virtually and still feel connected to the group.
- Have a Licensed Massage Therapist offer chair massages at your worksite.
- Allow casual attire at the office during the holidays so employees are more comfortable and spend less time picking up dry cleaning or ironing their business clothes.
- Host office holiday parties during business hours to allow the employees to be home with their families after work.
- In lieu of the traditional office Christmas party, plan a “Give Back to the Community” day and teams of employees can volunteer. Have healthy snacks for their breaks and celebrate their accomplishments. There are website that will help you locate corporate volunteer opportunities: Points of Light or Habitat for Humanity.
- Keep healthy snacks in the break rooms so your employees don’t binge on the holiday treats and candy.
These options will help make wellness part of the culture twelve months a year. On behalf of W3, we hope you and your employees have a safe and happy holiday season. If you need assistance with ideas for a healthy holiday planning, please feel free to contact me at tblocker@w3ins.com.