Helping workers handle holiday pressures benefits all | US job satisfaction declines, survey finds | Ask these 6 questions before making a tough decision
Workers tend to be anxious during the holidays due to higher expenses, tight work deadlines, and keeping up with activities at home and work. Employers can help alleviate some stress with these tips from Karen Rech, senior EAP trainer at Health Advocate.
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Job satisfaction among US employees has dropped to the lowest point since early 2020, according to a BambooHR survey. A separate survey by Alight Solutions found 34% of employees are apprehensive about starting the workday, an 11% increase since 2020.
Infuse AI and HI (Human Intelligence) at Work Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the next wave of technological advancement that will change the course of human events. However, AI is inseparable from human intelligence (HI). SHRM is uniting these potent elements in our upcoming event, The AI+HI Project this March. Learn More.
A survey by NORC at the University of Chicago found only 13% of employers are offering new incentives such as higher pay to satisfy employees who don't want to work in the office, even though 75% of HR representatives say keeping those employees is a problem. "Once workers discovered that (remote work could be) less expensive and ... make their life a little easier, they just wanted to keep doing it, even once the pandemic began fading away," says Marjorie Connelly, senior fellow at NORC's Public Affairs & Media Research department.
Employers should invest in automated technologies to save employees time on mundane activities and increase their productivity on larger, more important aspects of their jobs, says Linda Ho, chief people officer at Seismic. "By investing in the right tech, businesses are investing in their employees' happiness and job satisfaction, which results in increased retention and optimized output," Ho says.
Several years ago, when the kids were still young, the holiday season went by in a blur. School plays, classroom parties, work get-togethers, family and church festivities. I felt enormous pressure to buy gifts for everyone and show up at every event with a homemade dish. I spent way over my limits, which added to my stress. It was exhausting.
I vowed that would never happen again. When the following December came along, I was ready. I had my budget and kept to it. I let go of the invisible pressure to be at every holiday event. I bought gifts only for my children and a select group of friends. I made sure the kids and I went to our community Parade of Lights and enjoyed our family get-together.
I thought of that experience when I read today’s top story about holiday stress and worker productivity. We have to be intentional about managing our stress levels and helping our teams to manage theirs. I like how Karen Rech of Health Advocate emphasizes being mindful about expectations and priorities. That’s key. Every day, we should remind ourselves -- in our planners or during our morning prayer times -- what matters most and build the rest of the day off of that.
How do you do it? How do you keep yourself sane during the holiday pressure cooker? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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