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Don’t Be a Grinch: Supporting Employee Mental Health Around the Holidays
Nov 27, 2023 8:00:00 AM
For some, the holidays are a happy time of year filled with holiday shopping, spending time with friends and family, giving gifts, sitting down to special meals with loved ones, and other fun activities. For others, however, this time of year can be especially difficult and possibly have a negative impact on mental well-being. As an employer, recognizing the mental strain the holidays can have on some employees is important as well as taking appropriate steps to help lessen holiday stress.
In a survey completed in 2022 by BetterHelp, the world’s largest therapy service, 45% of Americans were worried about their mental health during the holiday season. The main stressors respondents mentioned as having a negative impact on their mental well-being included:
- Family gatherings and complicated family dynamics (28%)
- Shopping, spending, and cooking (31%)
- Finances (46%)
As an employer, you should keep an eye out for signs that employees are struggling with their mental wellbeing. Some signs include:
- Less enthusiasm or lower productivity
- Exhaustion
- Increased anxiety, cynicism, mood swings, or erratic behavior
- Unhealthy or unkempt appearance
- Withdrawal from social situations
- Easily irritated or angered
- Taking more sick days than usual
Because stress and concerns for mental well-being increase around the holidays, now is a good time to communicate any benefits your company may offer that can help with this. Benefits like an Employee Assistance Program, or EAP, can link an employee to mental health resources and will often provide a certain number of free sessions with a mental health counselor for free. If you offer health insurance, you may want to check if an EAP is included in your plan. Although you may provide this information at hire, many employees will forget about these offerings, so a reminder can be helpful.
If you don’t offer these benefits, there may be local community resources that you can refer employees to as well. For example, the Florida Department of Health provides contact information to various support organizations that can assist with mental health concerns. The National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, can also assist employees in linking them to local mental health providers.
Another step to take in helping support employees is simply asking how they are doing and encouraging them to take care of themselves. While some employees may not want to open up about personal issues, showing an interest in their well-being can go a long way for someone who may be struggling. Just a quick check-in with an employee can let them know they are valued, especially for those who may not have someone in their personal life to check on them.
Additionally, if you know an employee is struggling with their mental well-being, offer support with their workload to help reduce this stress if possible. Help employees prioritize deadlines or even move deadlines back when possible. Once an employee can get through the stressors of the holidays, they may be in a better place, mentally, to take on these deadlines and dedicate the attention required.
Because a lot of the stress centers around preparing for family gatherings and meals or getting everyone gifts on time, offering flexibility in scheduling can also go a long way. Offering an employee the option to come in later, leave early, or take an extended lunch break in order to check off their personal to-do list can lower the anxiety around the time crunch many can feel around the holidays. If an employee is not worried about the mountain of tasks they have to complete in a limited amount of time once they get home, they will be able to focus better at work.
While no one expects their employer to be a mental health expert, simply being aware, educated, and compassionate towards your employees can mean the world to someone on your workforce. If you have an employee that you are concerned about and want to discuss how to support them, reach out to your FrankAdvice HR Consultant.
