Ways to Motivate Employees During the Holidays

Celebrating the holiday season can be a fun way to keep your employees engaged and focused. But as the season progresses, you may start to notice employees who are losing steam. Your employees are extra busy during the holiday months as they are making time for visiting friends, shopping, baking, and enjoying holiday celebrations with family. By the time the new year rolls around many of them might feel burnt out and unmotivated. Here are a few ways you can help boost their energy and keep them motivated this holiday season.

Focus on Year-End Projects Early

The holiday months seem to come and go at a faster and faster pace each year. Between trips to the airport to pick up family, attending their children’s holiday musical, shopping and wrapping gifts, and visiting with friends, when is there time to work?

During this time of year, your employees may be requesting more time off, or taking longer lunches in order to complete their holiday to-do lists. It’s frustrating and potentially harmful to your company. Before becoming a Mr. Scrooge, find constructive ways to encourage your employees to stay focused. One of the best ways to ensure things get done before the new year is to start early. As early as October, start making a list of year-end projects and tasks. Create a timeline for when they need to be completed and divide assignments between employees. Stick to the timeline and try not to add more tasks to everyone’s designated list until after the holiday season has ended. Keep the holiday spirit alive by encouraging them to go home at the end of the day. Be fair and clear on company policies when approving and disapproving requested time off.

Make Work Fun

Gamification has been an effective employee engagement tactic for a long time. At the end of the year, you want your employees to double-down on their to-do list and finish the season strong. By bringing in a little friendly competition, you can motivate your employees to get work done while having fun.

A little healthy competition goes a long way when it comes to inspiring employees to work harder. Set up a leaderboard to track results. Create fun competitions to motivate employees to accomplish specific goals. Gamification is a fun way to brighten up the mood around the office, drive year-end performance numbers up, and keep employees motivated and engaged.

Allow Employees to Celebrate

Decorating the office for the holiday season is one of the best ways to keep everyone in a cheerful mood. Employees who participate in putting up the tree or stringing lights feel less like they are missing out on holiday fun because they are work and might find it easier to get into the holiday spirit. Plan a few special events to make the workplace a little more festive. Host games, Secret Santa, and potlucks. Not only do these things boost employee morale, they can have a positive effect on productivity.

Reward and Relax

Motivate your employees during the workday by rewarding them with small holiday theme treats. Many companies choose to give out bonus checks this time of year. While everyone enjoys a little extra spending cash around the holidays, do not underestimate the value of a simple gift that makes employees feel appreciated. Customized gifts are a great way to make employees feel cherished.

Even if there is still a lot of work to do in order to make your company’s year-end goals, take time to host a holiday party. Coworkers can bond and have fun with each other, boosting company culture and improving work relationships. Forcing employees to only focus on their work this time of year could cause them to resent the company and adopt a poor attitude for completing the work that still needs to be done.

If time allows, give your employees a few extra days off. Especially if Christmas day falls on a weekday. Your employees will appreciate the thoughtfulness of allowing them the extra time to relax and come back to the workplace recharged and ready to take on the last few year-end projects before ringing in the new year.

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