With the Christmas break just weeks away, workers are winding down ready for some festive fun, but the wise amongst us might want to start preparing the office for the holiday – you don’t want to return to chaos in the new year.
Planning everything from the workload to cleaning schedules and caring for office plants before the shutdown might just make the return to work a lot less stressful.
Follow our guide on how to be organised at work to minimise the risks of anything going wrong, so you can leave the office safe in the knowledge you’ve covered every base.
Motivating your team
Working out how to motivate employees at Christmas can be a challenge in itself, since 25% of workers say this is the season when motivation is at its lowest. While you want people to enter into the festive spirit, it’s also important that they carry out their duties efficiently.
Decorate the office for Christmas to create a happy and morale boosting atmosphere for both staff and clients. You could organise fun festive events, such as a Christmas jumper or fancy dress day, making a donation to charity in return.
Encourage feedback from your team to find out what they’d like to do for the Christmas party, whether it’s a sit-down meal, an informal gathering in the workplace, or a night out on the town. This encourages bonding and spurs co-workers to keep on working, with the promise of a fun event to let their hair down before the holiday.
Organise a Secret Santa, a Christmas bonus, end-of-year awards or any other activities that are feasible and fun. The aim is to boost morale, without disrupting the day-to-day running of the office.
Offer more flexible working hours in the run-up to Christmas, such as permitting employees to start late or finish early, as it encourages goodwill when you support them. Being based in a bespoke workplace, such as a serviced office in London, makes it easier to plan a more flexible schedule away from the rigid 9-5.
The holiday season can be fraught with stress as well as being enjoyable, so consider whether employees are being overloaded unnecessarily. Avoid burnout by setting realistic deadlines and spreading out office tasks efficiently and fairly.
Research reveals 35% of employees experience some level of burnout in the weeks before Christmas as they juggle work and home life, so make sure your team’s wellbeing doesn’t take a back seat over the next few weeks.
BE Offices’ serviced offices London-wide provide plenty of options for flexible working arrangements not only at Christmas, but all year round.
Workspace organisation
Minimise what needs to be done on the last day at work by planning a schedule in advance, such as setting aside sessions to tidy up the office. This is an ideal time to throw away what’s no longer needed, clearing desks, drawers and filing cabinets, so 2025 gets off to a good start. Clutter can increase feelings of demotivation.
Encourage your team to declutter their own workspace and leave it organised. Communal areas should also be left tidy, especially if you’ve hosted a Christmas party in the office.
Office plants
If you have office plants, what’s the plan for taking care of them? The simple solution is an “adopt a plant” scheme, whereby each employee takes home a plant over the festive break.
With most offices closing from 24th December until 2nd January, even if staff are going away for a couple of days, it’s preferable that a plant is at their home, rather than left in the workplace.
When should you take Christmas decorations down?
Wondering if you should take the office Christmas decorations down before or after the break? This is largely due to personal choice, as traditionally, they should be taken down on Twelfth Night – around 6th January. On the other hand, coming back to work and finding a tired Christmas tree probably isn’t such a great idea.
Maybe it should be a task for the final day before the Christmas break, after the office party and during the pre-holiday tidy-up? The January blues are a common feeling when people return to work after the holiday, so it could be better to create a “new year, fresh start” vibe instead of returning to the Christmas baubles?
Finally, encourage sustainability over the holiday by shutting down and unplugging all electrical appliances to save energy and money in your absence.
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