Preparing for the Holidays: HoHoHoooh No, I Have to Work the Night Shift…
The upcoming holidays, with all their hype and high expectations, invariably bring stress to all of us: employees and managers, family members, friends and neighbors. If we plan ahead, we can avoid the common pitfalls that often cause holiday stress and heartache. Developing these skills is an important part of learning to balance work life and home life.
Some suggestions to improve your time around the holidays include:
Set reasonable expectations for yourself and your family. High expectations can lead to disappointment, frustration and even anger. How many “perfect” holidays have you had? Instead, enjoy the moments you can. Then, if the holidays exceed your expectations, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Be realistic about planning if you are taking a break from work. If you are lucky enough to be absent from work over the holidays, you may have to do lots of extra work before you go. These extra pressures may mean that you are even more tired by the time the holiday actually arrives. Many people over prepare, making plan and writing notes about events they expect to happen while they are away. But, when they return they find that very few of these things have occurred during their absence. Anxiety and insecurity cause many people to worry that things will go wrong while they are away and that they will be blamed for it.
If you are going to be away from work, make sure there is a proper transfer of work. Schedule a proper handover of your work in progress. If you feel someone else understands what needs to be done while you are away, you will be able to feel more relaxed and will be able to let go of your work knowing that it is in safe hands. Even if your colleagues or managers are busy, make sure you insist upon a proper transfer of work.
Take shift work patterns into consideration in your planning. People who work shifts often have greater challenges going away and returning from holidays. This is because certain shift patterns are especially likely to be disrupted by one or two weeks spent living a normal cycle of day and night. When planning your holidays, try to take into account shift patterns and choose a holiday schedule that you feel will fit best with your ability to adjust vs. one that will only satisfy the day time workers (usually the majority in every family).
Plan your shopping time carefully. With each consecutive holiday season, more and more consumers are increasing their online holiday spending budgets. The holiday online rush begins earlier than it does in brick-and-mortar stores. Last year, a total of $14.41 billion was spent in online retail in the first 43 days of the holiday season! For shift workers who may not have as much time to get to the mall, online shopping is a great alternative; have packages shipped to friends and neighbors to hide purchases from family members.
Plan ahead for relationship challenges. If you have conflicts with a family member whenever you see them, you will probably have conflicts with them during the holidays too. Consider how you want to respond to these family members in a way that will still allow you to enjoy the holidays.
Set boundaries and limits. This doesn’t just apply to a holiday budget but also to holiday parties and family gatherings which may be exhausting. We often find ourselves attending more gatherings than we want to out of a sense of obligation. Pick and choose how and with whom you plan to spend your limited holiday time. Think about how you want to commit your time and money.
Expect the unexpected. You can prepare for the normal situations that you know will come up in your typical holiday season. But, the unexpected will occur. Don’t allow it to take over. Stay calm and remember that you can’t control everything.
Make time to exercise, sleep and eat right. A healthy, balanced lifestyle will help to reduce holiday stress.
Take time over the holiday to think about work. This may sound crazy but holidays are a good time to reflect on work and life in general. Take advantage of having a little more time and reflect on where you are with your job and perhaps with your life in general. What are your goals for the next year? Perhaps the next five years? What do you need to work on in order to achieve your goals? Write some of these things down so that you can refer to them again at times when you are overwhelmed by daily pressures.
Treat yourself. Do something special for yourself. Take time to relax and enjoy the season in a way that is meaningful to you.
Be prepared for a let down after the holidays. Some people may be full of energy after this hectic season, but many people feel tired and worn out. Being aware that this is normal and that it is temporary will make it feel less threatening.
None of us are immune to holiday stress, but we can practice good self care and encourage our work associates, family members, friends and neighbors to do the same.
©2007workingnights
This material is provided for personal, non-commercial, educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement.
Tags: children, family, friends, marriage, Parenting, relaxation, Working Nights
