HAPPY CHRISTMAS?

Concerned about your personal budget for Christmas festivities? Worried about possible family feuds? Feel that you should be having a happy and enjoyable time, but all you can see is problems? Christmas should be a time of fun, a time to relax and unwind. However, with festivities starting increasingly early each year, Christmas is becoming a time of increased pressure and stress for employees. This has been the experience of CiC, one of the UK’s leading Employee Assistance Programme providers, who have found that in the run up to Christmas and for several weeks afterwards, employees are using the CiC confidential helpline as a support mechanism to help them through this stressful period.

CiC’s extensive experience in talking to and supporting individuals reveals some common themes:

Christmas is traditionally deemed to be a time for family, but this can lead to stress, with individuals being exposed to intense family dynamics or increased feelings of loneliness if spending the festive season alone. Added pressures from home can have a detrimental effect on a person’s performance at work, leading to stress responses such as headaches, anxiety and difficulty in sleeping. In such cases, it proves beneficial for an organisation to have a support mechanism in place to help staff through what can be traumatic times.

Office parties can be one source of additional pressure at Christmas. As employees begin to relax for the holiday season, parties can be a scene of excessive drinking and over- indulgence. Reduced inhibitions at such occasions can lead to one night stands or in some situations, traumatic incidents, such as accidents or falls. For many employees, the morning after not only brings a headache but also feelings of guilt and remorse about their actions. Providing employees with a forum in which to discuss these concerns can prove invaluable, and the trained counsellors on the CiC Confidential Care adviceline have helped employees to work towards resolving issues, increasing their confidence when returning to work and enabling them to discuss why and how the situation developed in the first place.

The pressure of Christmas debt is also becoming more of an issue, with the season starting earlier in shops, mirrored by intense media pressure. Expectations for lavish gifts and parties rise in tandem with costs, and even food bills increase as supermarkets cash in on the season. CiC reports that the financial implications of Christmas is also a huge factor for employees, and one that escalates once the festivities are over. Financial stress and worry can have a great impact on employees’ concentration at work as they find themselves deeper in debt and struggling to meet monthly payments.

Libby Payne, Clinical Director of CiC, gives an example of a situation common to the end of the Christmas period, where an employee contacts the helpline with concerns about their debts. It is not unknown for CiC to hear of debts of over £10,000 from Christmas, leading many individuals into difficulty managing monthly payments. Many times, after talking such situations through, CiC refer employees to one of their specialist legal and financial experts. They will work with employees to prepare letters and statements of means for the employee’s creditors, which explain their current financial predicament, and as a result are often able to negotiate reasonable payment terms which can be met on a monthly basis and which alleviate much of the stress of being in debt.

“It is important for people to look after themselves both physically and psychologically during this festive season. Eating and drinking excessively can take its toll, particularly when combined with late nights. It is understandable that employees are going to be flagging after client and office nights out, but eating healthily, taking regular exercise and ensuring that you are properly hydrated are all focus points in order to maintain a relaxed state of mind and body. Feeling exhausted, depressed and anxious only increases stress levels and stops the festive period from being a joyful occasion”.

Kate Nowlan, CEO, CiC

A further issue is that of an increased workload on returning to work in January, due to the now-traditional shut down period for UK companies between Christmas and New Year:

“In the run up to Christmas it is important that employees and managers should anticipate the extra workload that comes with having time off over the festive period. Employees and managers need to pace themselves on the return to the workplace. Work hours will have inevitably been lost and a good plan of action will enable teams and employees to feel in control and optimistic about company objectives”.
Kate Nowlan, CEO, CiC

Notes to Editors:

CiC was founded in 1988 and works with leading companies both in the UK and overseas to optimise staff support, training and performance. CiC was the first Employee Assistance Programme provider to be audited against the professional standards of the Employee Assistance Programmes Association. CiC currently offers programmes to over 250,000 individuals throughout the public, private and voluntary sectors, with a range of services including Employee Assistance Programmes, Learning & Development programmes, Change Consulting, Coaching, Crisis Management and Critical Incident Support.