How to Boost Employee Morale Before the Holiday Season
As the year ends, workplaces often see employees low on energy. To boost team spirit, prevent burnout, and finish the year positively, we share effective, low-cost methods to uplift your team before the holiday season.
Decorate the Office
Take a short break from work to decorate the office together. Use Christmas ornaments, holiday tinsel, fairy lights, or DIY decor. This team activity will lift everyone’s spirits and bring a festive feel. If your company has several departments and employees have their own offices, hold a contest for the most creatively decorated office.
Play Christmas Music During Lunch Breaks
The workday will feel much more enjoyable with holiday tunes playing at the start and end of the day, as well as during lunch breaks. If everyone takes lunch at different times, organize music breaks throughout the day. Introducing this a week or two before the holidays will surely energize the team.
Host a Holiday Costume Day
Forget the dress code for a day and invite employees to come in unusual or festive costumes. This workday will surely be memorable for the entire team and might even become a cherished pre-holiday tradition.
Organize a Secret Santa
This popular holiday game is a great way to bring the team closer and save on gifts. Each participant becomes a Secret Santa to a colleague, preparing a surprise gift. The beauty of this game is that it doesn’t matter how many participants there are or where they are located. It can be played in one office, across multiple branches, or even remotely.
The easiest way to organize the game is with the MySanta app. It provides an intuitive interface, easy and fast participation for everyone, and a variety of additional features to spice up the game. These include creating wishlists, tracking who is giving to whom, sending reminders to forgetful Santas, and communicating with gift recipients.
Set Up a Corporate Advent Calendar
An Advent calendar is a European tradition of counting down the days until Christmas. Typically, it's a cardboard house with numbered boxes, each containing a chocolate or a fun task. However, instead of sharing one chocolate in the office, the boxes could contain notes with kind wishes or humorous messages from Santa.
Organize a Holiday Team-Building Event
Host a cooking class, conduct a trivia quiz, arrange an office scavenger hunt, or go tubing—any fun group activity outside of work will help colleagues connect and recharge as the year ends.
Create a Collage of Childhood Holiday Photos
Many of us have amusing childhood photos by the Christmas tree in costumes of bunnies, snowflakes, or musketeers. Collect such photos from employees to create a heartwarming collage that everyone can enjoy and discuss during breaks.
While thinking about how to delight your team, remember that any employee has the right to opt out of activities that are unrelated to work. Everyone has their own way of preparing for the holidays.
Conclusion
Don't worry that holiday prep might distract employees. Allowing colleagues a few minutes a day to step away from work tasks will reduce tension in the team, strengthen connections within departments, and significantly increase loyalty to the employer.
