Feeling the heat in your workplace as the holidays draw closer? We tapped resilience expert Peta Sigley for her tips on mitigating stress and anxiety at work before being bogged down with burnout.
The holidays are undoubtedly a time filled with joy and celebration. But while most of us get a week or so off work and the chance to spend time with family and friends, that doesn’t mean it isn’t completely exhausting.
In fact, while the festive season is a time meant for relaxation and fun, it can also be laced with stress and expectation. Pair that with deadlines for work, and top-down pressure from managers and it’s a recipe for burnout.
To avoid reaching that point, and ensure you can still enjoy the festivities, we tapped Peta Sigley, psychology PhD and CEO of corporate resilience organisation Springfox, for her top tips on navigating the festive season, the healthy way.
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Why do people experience increased pressure around the holidays?
“The festive season often brings much to look forward to, but this time of year also comes with increased personal and professional commitments,” Sigley tells Body+Soul. “Whether it’s work deadlines, end-of-year reporting, school concerts, Christmas gift shopping, party hosting, or making last-minute arrangements for a family holiday.”
“Many of us feel as though we have so much to do and so little time to do it, which can result in feelings of anxiety or dread leading into the festive period.”
There’s also the added pressure of knowing you’re near the end of another year. Calendar years often feel like milestones and easy ways to benchmark success, so people often look back at their goals and intentions for the year, and consider whether they've achieved everything they thought they would.
“Many of us find ourselves trying to juggle work responsibilities and deadlines, while also creating enjoyable festive experiences for our family. The expectations surrounding holiday celebrations—including gift-giving and hosting and attending social events—contribute an additional layer of pressure,” says Sigley.
As does the expectation and desire to create perfect moments at home and in the workplace, which Sigley says “intensifies the overall sense of responsibility, amplifying our stress levels and potentially taking the enjoyment out of what should be a joyful time of year.”
How does stress differ for people in the workplace?
While it can feel like managers are coming down hard with the workload at the end of the year, they’re likely feeling the heat in their jobs too.
“Managers and employees both feel the weight of increased personal commitments during the festive season, but their end-of-year pressures at work are likely to differ,” says Sigley. “Managers often tend to grapple with the responsibility of ensuring team productivity and meeting year-end goals for the company, while in contrast, employees tend to feel the strain of individual work tasks and expectations.”
Neither stress nor tasks are more valuable than the others, so increasing empathy and patience is crucial for both parties, to aid in a harmonious workplace and team, “particularly as mutual support becomes essential during this demanding season.
How to manage stress in the lead-up to Christmas
If you feel like you’re on a one-way train to burnout, then it’s time to make a change – within yourself and also in your environment.
“Prioritising tasks based on their urgency and importance will allow you to focus on what truly matters,” says Sigley. “Engaging in mindfulness practices, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and fostering a supportive team culture will help you cope with stress and aid in maintaining your resilience during busy periods.
“Regularly reassessing your commitments and adjusting expectations as needed ensures that you can navigate the demands of this busy holiday season with a stronger sense of control and composure.”
She suggests trying the following steps to reduce anxiety as the festivities draw closer:
Prioritise sleep: Lock in your bedtime and aim for at least 7-8 hours every night. A consistent sleep schedule and deep, restorative sleep will see us well-placed to manage busy days.
Practise mindful breathing: During times of stress and overwhelm, we often forget to simply breathe out. Practise mindful deep breathing to calm the nervous system and re-centre the self.
Make time for relaxation: It’s common to view self-care as a luxury, particularly during busy periods, but taking time out to rest and relax is even more important when life gets hectic.
Move your body: Exercise is an effective way to combat feelings of stress and overwhelm by releasing feel-good endorphins and allowing for mental clarity. Even just a 10-minute walk around the block can be beneficial.
Stay connected: Don’t forget the festive season is all about getting together with loved ones. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, reach out to a friend for a chat. Meaningful social connection can lift our mood, boost our resilience, and help minimise feelings of anxiety or stress.
And as for how to tell the difference between regular stress and concerning stress? “Remember that at times things will feel uncomfortable, but they should not be distressing,” she says.
How can managers help mitigate stress in the workplace?
“Practising empathy, compassion, and open communication is crucial at this time of year,” Sigley tells Body+Soul. That looks like “recognising and validating another person’s experiences without passing judgement” and “acting with understanding and deep care towards not just the employee but the individual as a whole.”
You can never underestimate the power of kindness either. Being aware that everyone is under pressure and making an effort to be kind to yourself and the people around you won’t go unnoticed, and you’ll feel better for it.
For managers, a big part of the responsibility is in being aware if someone isn’t coping. This “might include an inability to meet deadlines, a decline in performance or productivity, or simply an increase in small errors,” says Sigley.
If that is the case, then reevaluating workload, helping the person prioritise and establishing realistic deadlines is a great place to start.
“Creating a safe space for honest conversation and feedback is crucial and will help foster a supportive work culture that acknowledges the challenges of balancing personal and professional demands during the holiday season,” she says.
How to tell your boss you’re feeling stressed
The best way to flag anything of a serious nature with a manager is to approach them and ask if you can arrange a time to speak one-on-one.
“If possible, try to come up with a potential solution but be open to discussing this together: says Sigley. “There’s a good chance others on your team will be dealing with many of the same pressures, so consider what a collaborative solution might look like and come to the meeting ready to offer this. This approach will help ensure the discussion is an open, honest, and productive one.”
Coming to your manager with a solution, rather than just a problem, indicates you take your work and the team’s commitments seriously, and also makes it easier for your leader to envisage your ideal outcome from the chat.
“This will encourage a more understanding and cooperative response from managers and is more likely to lead to a better result overall,” says Sigley.
Remember, boundaries are non-negotiable
One of the easiest ways to get sucked into stressful situations, particularly in the workplace, is not having effective boundaries. These could be boundaries with other people in the team or wider workplace, or work as a whole if you’re finding your professional tasks bleeding into your personal life.
“Setting effective boundaries during the holidays requires a combination of self-awareness and assertive communication,” says Sigley. “Clearly defining priorities—what absolutely needs to get done and what can wait until the new year—negotiating realistic deadlines, establishing expectations for response times, delegating where possible, and communicating planned time off well in advance are essential steps for this, and this is true for both our personal and professional lives.”
Be proactive with your boundaries to ensure you don’t get snowed down, and communicate with your leaders if these boundaries are taking a hit.
Ultimately, being at your best is beneficial for the business too, so be sure to take note of what does and does not work for you, and aim to solve any problems before you’re already sliding towards burnout.
