In an ideal world, nobody would be working over the holiday season, but businesses need to keep going. If your business will be operating throughout the Christmas period and you need your team to work, it's important that you give them the right support. They are giving up their time when they could be at home with their families and they are likely to be working extra hours during this busy period. Here's how you can support employees that are working over the Christmas period.
How Can Businesses Support Employees Working During The Christmas Period?
Pay Them A Higher Rate
Some companies choose to pay their employees a higher rate or a bonus for working during the holiday season. This isn't always possible, but if you can see that your company is going to get a lot of work done and this might lead to increased profits in the future, it's worth considering.
If you can't afford to give everybody a bonus, think carefully about whether you should give anybody extra pay; doing this for some people and not others may lead to discontent among colleagues and could cause problems. However, if you can afford it and many members of staff will be getting extra hours, consider rewarding all those who have put in an extra effort with a bonus.
If you can't afford to give everybody a bonus, think carefully about whether you should give anybody extra pay; doing this for some people and not others may lead to discontent among colleagues and could cause problems. However, if you can afford it and many members of staff will be getting extra hours, consider rewarding all those who have put in an extra effort with a bonus.
Give Them Some Amazing Gifts
Even if you are not able to give people a higher rate of pay, you should still reward their hard work with some amazing Christmas gifts. You can buy turkey gift certificates in bulk and these make perfect gifts to reward your employees. They can enjoy their turkey when they're at home with their family, and they don't need to worry about heading to the grocery store. You could also consider some great gift certificates, so your employees can decide what they want to buy themselves.
Whatever you decide to do, getting your employees a great gift to say thank you is the least you can do if they are giving up their time during the holiday period.
Whatever you decide to do, getting your employees a great gift to say thank you is the least you can do if they are giving up their time during the holiday period.
Be Flexible With Their Schedules
When somebody works during the holiday season, they are giving up their time and this means that their personal plans usually have to change. If you can, try to be flexible with your employees' schedules so they can spend some time at home with their loved ones. This is particularly important if somebody has children, for example. You should also consider allowing people to work from home if possible.
Instead of writing a schedule and deciding when everybody should work, speak with your employees first. Ask everybody which days they would most like to have off and if you are running a restaurant business or something similar, try to give people shorter shifts so they have more time at home. Naturally, there will be a lot of crossover and you won't be able to give everybody exactly what they want. However, if you work with people, you can create a schedule that keeps most people happy. Your team will be far less upset about working during the holidays if you try to make things fair for everybody.
Instead of writing a schedule and deciding when everybody should work, speak with your employees first. Ask everybody which days they would most like to have off and if you are running a restaurant business or something similar, try to give people shorter shifts so they have more time at home. Naturally, there will be a lot of crossover and you won't be able to give everybody exactly what they want. However, if you work with people, you can create a schedule that keeps most people happy. Your team will be far less upset about working during the holidays if you try to make things fair for everybody.
Working over the Christmas period is never ideal, but if you follow these tips, you can keep everybody happy.
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