There is a reason that fellow employees at your place of work are often referred to as a ‘second family.’ We spend more time with colleagues and workmates than we do anyone else in our natural lives, making the workplace dynamic key for personal mental health as well as for business.
As important as it is to work well together, it is also important to play well together – and national or cultural holidays are no different. But why is that, and how can you as a leader facilitate the celebration of holidays at work?
Why Is the Celebration of Holidays Good for Your Team?
Increased Motivation
One of the bigger boons to hosting celebrations as an employer can be found in the form of employee motivation. By showing to your staff that you are willing to expend time and energy on a holiday, you are showing them that you are invested in their happiness as well as their professional output. As such, workers will be more motivated to go that extra mile, knowing that you are to facilitate them.
Team Building
Bringing your whole office into a room together, physically or virtually, to collectively observe the holidays can be a supremely positive act and one that coheres your team into just that – a team. For example, Escapely offers fun virtual holiday party games to celebrate, such as escape rooms, trivia, or murder mysteries. These events are a great way to encourage inter-departmental socializing and reward your team for their hard work all year.
Increased Productivity
The above benefits can also have a positive overall effect on team effectiveness. It is well-known at this point that employee happiness directly correlates with employee productivity, and employee happiness itself can be improved with team drive and cohesiveness. Celebrating holidays in-office can be a driver for productivity, being both a demonstration of your commitment to the team and also a reward for work well-done.
How You Can Facilitate as an Employer
Before you make any concrete plans on behalf of your team or department, you should ascertain who observes which holidays – this way, you can build a complete calendar of holidays to celebrate, and make sure that everyone is equally represented by their culture and beliefs.
At a basic level, food is a fantastic motivator, and the cornerstone of any successful office celebration, regardless of any other provisions. For pretty much every holiday, there is a specific food that comes along with it; the chocolate Easter eggs of this 2022 are sure to spark joy in your staff cohort this Easter, while a buffet of samosas, bhajis, and gulab jamun will bring the breakroom to life for Diwali.
Of course, each holiday also presents an opportunity above and beyond the offering of food and a 20-minute break from work. You could use the time to bring employees together for team-building events and exercises. If apart, a good old-fashioned Zoom pub quiz can have your staff team up for a spot of seasonal fun; together in person, you could embark on seasonal or cultural activities as a group, such as putting up the office Christmas tree together. The limit is your imagination as a leader.
