Working During the Holidays

  The holiday season is fun and all, with the delicious food, nostalgic holiday movies, endless music, and the colorful displays. However, it isn’t all great when you are a working adult. Honestly, I feel like the holiday nostalgia has faded over time as I progress in my adulthood and career. I know I touched upon this in a couple of blog posts, but that was geared more towards people working in customer service. At the time when I said that those working in the customer service industry were stressed during the holidays, I didn’t imply they were the only ones impacted. In general, everyone who has a job is most likely going to work during the holiday season. I remember the days when I was younger, I would enjoy all the Christmas decorations, the presents, and parties. However, as I got older, that is when I slowly began to realize if I want to have that Christmas nostalgia, I would have to work for it. That’s right, the holiday season is nothing but a commercialized act for working adults.

Let’s point out the obvious part of working during the holidays: the time. Time is very limited when we are working for most of our lives. A majority of adults work 5 days of week for a total of 40 hours which is divided to 8-9 hours a day. Between the time we are working, we only have a few hours to ourselves. That time is more limited especially during the holiday season. Because we spend so much time working, there is barely enough time to spend for the holidays. That is if you take holiday shopping, prepping for any parties, and decorating. After all of that, there is still barely any time for yourself. There are even some who can’t even celebrate at all because they are working the day before (Christmas/New Years’ Eve), or on the day of. You know, I remember a time when I used to get out of school for a few weeks of winter break. That time, I didn’t have to worry about studying, homework, etc. I could just look forward to enjoying the nostalgic of the holidays. Now, as an adult I can hardly do any of that stuff all because I am working most of the time. If it were possible, I wished that all adults who are working full time jobs get a mandatory winter break like the kids and their teachers. It would boost employee morale at all companies, and reduce turnover. If a CEO or manager of a big company is reading this, please take it into consideration. Besides, the week of Christmas/New Years is when employee motivation to work is really low. All we are doing is the bare minimum and pushing stuff to the new year.

Another downside of working during the holidays is the awkward company holiday party. For some, it is a great way to relax and celebrate a years’ worth of hard work. For other’s however, it is more of a nightmare when you aren’t the type who socializes with coworkers. For instance, why would you want to be at your office holiday party where you have a forced awkward conversation with someone in the accounting department. There is even the weird white elephant gift exchange where everyone brings a random item as a gift. I have also heard stories of office parties going wild such as many people getting drunk, coworkers flirting with each other, or employees just acting out. I think the rules have gotten stricter regarding the use of alcohol, but I can’t speak for every existing company. At least the food is good for the most part, but a lot of you would rather have a pay raise instead of “free food” for the holidays. Unfortunately, after the holiday party is over, it is back to normal at “work” where it is mundane, busy, and sometimes stressful. Plus, mostly everyone is back to their less cheerful selves.

Overall, every adult that has to work for the holidays is sacrificing their time so they can put food on the table for themselves and their families, and that they can afford to get presents for everyone. But is it really worth it if you have to lose that time that you could’ve spent with your family, or with yourself this holiday season? Not to mention the amount of burnout you can get. I am leaving that up for you to decide, but don’t forget to take care of yourselves during this time of year when it can get pretty stressful. Personally, for me, I have to work during the holidays, but it isn’t stressful than what I experienced at my previous jobs a couple years ago. However, we are still busy up to the end of the year especially when you are in charge of decorations for a party. We did have a small holiday lunch for our staff a few days ago. It wasn’t too bad, except everyone had to pay $15 for lunch, and bring a $10 grab bag on top of that. No one acted out of sorts except for a few dogs that came into the office, and when we were playing games. For everyone that is working during the holidays, I commend you and hope you get some time for yourself. If you managed the get PTO, then I am happy for you. I wish you all the happiest of holidays, and be sure to not work too hard.

For information on mental health resources near you, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI at NAMI.org.

If you or someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, please text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or call 1-800-273-8255.