From Susan M. Heathfield,
Your Guide to Human Resources.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

Want to keep productivity and employee spirits positive during the holidays? Are you looking for ways to relieve holiday-related stress? You can start by not causing stress. As an employer, you control many of the variables that create holiday season stress for people.

Almost everyone wants to make extra money for the holidays, but excessive overtime hours and working on paid holidays lowers employee morale. Losing weekends needed to prepare for the holidays causes even more negative feelings. Short deadlines for important projects and pressure to reach end-of-year-goals can add additional stress to the holidays. Even simple, fun events, such as purchasing a Secret Santa present or baking for a cookie exchange, can add to holiday stress; they create just one more thing to do.

My article, Create a Very, Merry Holiday Season, tells you how you can take care of holiday stress on a personal level. The following tips from the Society for Human Resource Management tell you what employers are doing to limit employee holiday stress.

SHRM staff asked human resource professionals, "Does your company engage in any of the following practices to help alleviate holiday-related stress among your employees?" These are the actions most frequently cited.

• 51 percent schedule holiday events during normal business hours.
• 39 percent remind employees of their Employee Assistance Program.
• 33 percent show appreciation for employees who work during a holiday.
• 32 percent encourage casual dress for holiday parties.
• 30 percent provide holiday food.
• 23 percent give the quarterly or annual bonus early for holiday shopping.
• 20 percent provide floating days for holidays worked.
• 14 percent offer reduced hours so employees can run errands.
• 13 percent allow time for volunteer opportunities during work hours.
• 8 percent provide extra shifts for people to earn holiday money.
• 1 percent cover child care for employee errands.
• 15 percent of employers provide other employee perks and opportunities.

Want more ideas? Try these, too.

• Give every employee a gift from the company. One company gave an impressive pen with the company logo. Holiday dinner food is a great idea if the store is convenient to all.
• Offer flexible schedules so people can take time when they need it for their holiday preparations and celebrations.
• Consider making holidays floating so people can honor their religious and cultural traditions with paid time off. Think of Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Hannukah and more, yet most organizations offer paid holidays for Christmas and New Year's Day only.
• Provide any bonuses for attendance, or other gifts you might offer in the normal course of events, in spendable formats such as grocery store gift cards, gift certificates or phone cards.

Ways to help employees control, manage and eliminate holiday stress are endless - and endlessly appreciated. Think of this list as the start of a brainstorm, not the finish.