by While the holidays can be a fun time, they can also be a challenging, stressful season with year-end deadlines and family obligations. Your colleagues may make this special time of year easier or harder, depending on their holiday attitude.
“It’s that magical time of year when many of us start to forget what day it is and what time it is,” said Jacqueline M. Baker, founder of Scarlet Communications, a leadership training consultancy. “Unfortunately, it’s that time of year when many of the things we’re more careful and diligent about, like workplace behaviors and habits, start to slip a little.”
“Even during the holiday season, when schedules are a little different, calendars are a little more empty, and the workplace has more of a ghost town feel, we still need to remember appropriate behavior and actions to avoid turning coworkers,” Baker said. and enters the new year with a few unexpected enemies.
Here are the types of co-workers who will char in their socks over the holidays and make useless office foes. Don’t be one of them.
1. Those who force them to cheer up.
One of the worst holiday companions are those who force everyone to be cheerful and participate in the festivities. But the truth is, there can be many reasons why other people in the office don’t want to be cheerful at work right now.
“If your company has recently laid off people, including a close colleague, it can be difficult to feel happy during the holiday season. One of the biggest mistakes managers and teams make is mandatory vacation fun,” said career strategist Ana Goehner. “When a coworker makes you feel like you’re not a team player if you don’t participate, it’s forced entertainment. Showing up with a big smile on your face, spending money, buying unnecessary things, etc., just to feel that you are part of the team and that it is fun to be around. It feels like you’re buying admission.
Holiday festivities such as secret Santa swaps should involve participation without peer pressure.
“Not everyone has the money to buy gifts for such exchanges, and it’s very rash to assume that everyone will participate,” said Pattie Ehsaei, senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions at TikTok, a major national bank and lender for “The Duchess of Decor.” .
And if you’re a manager, you should go a step further and make it clear that no one working for you should feel obligated to buy you a gift.
Even during the holidays, business is still running, and you shouldn’t expect anyone to want to hear Mariah Carey blast “You’re All I Want For Christmas”.
“Did your decorations or holiday spirit overflow into other people’s cubicles or workspaces, starting to annoy or annoy them? Keep your cheer and holiday fever in your workspace,” Baker advised.
2. Those who think that single people do not need a vacation as much as others.
Colleagues who make judgments about who deserves a vacation break are among the most unpleasant. All too often, people give holiday shifts to single or childless employees under the false assumption that they need less free time than their married or parental peers.
A reader named Emily previously told HuffPost that she’s always the one who has to sacrifice vacation time at her job because she’s the only team member who isn’t married and has no children.
“It hurt my relationships so much – my family was upset, I could never attend them for meetings, significant others were disappointed that I had let work become a priority over our relationship and our home. It almost separated us,” Emily said.
A more compassionate colleague understands that everyone deserves a vacation, regardless of what people assume about their personal lives.
“Just because someone has made the decision not to marry or have children doesn’t mean they should be treated differently because it’s about holidays, vacation schedules, and festivities,” Baker said. “Be careful when making work schedule assumptions and judgments based on a person’s personal choice regarding marriage and children.”
3. Those who think that everyone is celebrating their own holidays.
Although many workplaces present Christmas as a corporate holiday, this does not mean that everyone celebrates a religious holiday. Colleagues who make this assumption exclude their coworkers.
“People who say ‘Everyone is Christian’ are walking around wishing everyone a ‘Merry Christmas’, all the talk is about Christmas, and also unless you’re planting trees, decorating or doing Christmas shopping, you’re like a freak.” said Ehsai.
4. Those who pressure their colleagues to meet a set of deadlines in December.
“One of the types that is very difficult to work with during the holidays is people who don’t respect slowdown as the holidays approach,” said Angela Karachristos, a career coach who has worked in human resources. “This person – often a manager – minimizes the importance, importance, and frankly the fact that as the holiday draws near, people’s attention and energy is focused on preparation and celebration.”
For example, career coach Jasmine Escalera recalled working for a boss who didn’t believe in “coming back in the new year” and setting a lot of artificial deadlines for her team during the holidays. the time of year is to shut things down.”
“It can ruin people’s holiday season,” Escalera said.
Escalera said that if managers really want to celebrate the holidays, they should consider the gift of time so that their employees can do what they need.
“I think companies should give you two weeks off at the end of the year and leave you alone. That would be great,” he said.
5. Those who expect to work hard in the absence of their co-workers.
The holiday season can be a time to calm down, but the worst coworkers are those who leave all their to-do’s on your plate while you set out to be happy. More attentive colleagues do not expect any team members to finish the projects they have started.
“The best way to show your colleague you care is to leave them a few tasks to do while you’re away. You’ve worked hard and deserve a day off, but don’t burden your coworkers with your end-of-year duties,” said Goehner.
