Office Christmas Traditions: Simple Ways to Promote Goodwill Among Your Employees

Everyone is excited about the holiday season - and curious what kind of Christmas celebrations will take place in the office. It is possible to offer some holiday cheer around the office without distracting from the work that is meant to take place. In fact, by creating a few simple office Christmas traditions, you can actually boost your office productivity.

When your office staff has planned Christmas traditions, they know what to expect, which includes when to expect celebrations and when the focus is on work. Also, looking forward to the anticipated Christmas activities will give them a chance to prove that a happy worker is a productive worker. Try making one - or all - of these activities a tradition in your office.

Secret Santa

The tradition of 'Secret Santa' exchanges works just as well in the office as it did in elementary school - and everywhere in between the two! 'Secret Santa' cuts down on the time and expense of getting gifts or writing Christmas cards for the entire office, and eliminates the hurt feelings or tension when some co-workers are left out of the fun. A voluntary program lets everyone who wants participate, and a spending limit controls competitiveness and expense.

Decorating Contest

How about starting a new office Christmas tradition, one that is a little bit unique or different? Most employees personalize their workspace in some way. Why not allow your employees to decorate their personal spaces for the holiday, or have each department be responsible for their own decorations?

Set up whatever ground rules will be comfortable - including limits to the extent of decorations, particularly those that will be in sight of customers or business associates. Decide whether to give the employees a designated "decorating time" or to ask that it be done before and after shift or when on break. Management can chose the winner(s), and the prize can be anything you like, an extra ½ hour a lunch, a gift card. Once the tradition sets, you will probably see your office better decorated each Christmas.

Christmas Lunch

An office Christmas lunch can be a great, casual get together, or it can even replace a more formal Christmas party. The limitations are only what you make them, and this tradition provides plenty of room for growth in future years. The company can provide lunch for the staff, or each staff member can contribute a dish. This is also a great time to exchange 'Secret Santa' gift for participants.

Larger companies may want to hold separate lunches for different departments to make the groups more manageable. This is also a great way to add to perceived value of working with your company. Even at little or no expense (as in the case of staff providing the dishes), having a Christmas lunch at the office can help make the employees a little bit more happy to be with the company - and no one is left out due to scheduling, as can happen with an after-hours Christmas party.

Christmas Party

Of course, there is always the ever-popular Christmas party. This can range from an elaborate semi-formal affair to a simple social with cookies and hot cocoa held in your office. Setting your Christmas party traditions (where, when, how formal, guests or no guests) helps your employees know what to expect.

Besides looking forward to a Christmas celebration, they can plan accordingly. This helps avoid unpleasant blunders that can draw a cloud over the festivities.

One last - but surely not least - consideration is your holiday hours. It is a great idea to set a policy concerning holidays: who will work, will the business close, will there be shortened hours. Your employees will be better able to plan any Christmas travel if they have an idea of what to expect. It is also a good idea to have a set policy for what will happen if the holidays fall on a weekend.