The holidays are finally here! We are just days away from Christmas, Hanukkah, and the New Year. Everyone is buzzing with holiday cheer, gifts are exchanged, cards are mailed out, and everyone’s attending holiday events here and there. The holidays make most of us cheerful and put us almost in a different dimension - a suspension of disbelief, a break from the regular routine.
It’s fun to enjoy the season, but there’s always that one person who’s the Grinch. He or she gets annoyed by the holiday music, doesn’t help with decorations, doesn’t want to get presents for anyone, and ends up bumming out all of the people around. If you’re the office Grinch, there’s still time to make sure your heart grows three sizes before 2020!
Here are some things to keep in mind for the rest of 2019 to ensure you’re not the office Grinch:
Allow your employees to have more flexibility
During the holidays, people go to great lengths to see their family and friends. Sometimes, it’s their only opportunity to have everyone together. People have family traditions, a lot of travel is involved, and it can be stressful to coordinate gifts.
Therefore, try to eliminate some of that stress from your paralegals by giving them more flexibility. It’s likely that your potential clients or existing clients will want to enjoy the holidays as well, so their follow up might not be as critical as it is at other times during the year. Additionally, you want to ensure that your office continues to be a pleasant place to work at.
Therefore, let your paralegals take time off so they can see their friends or relatives. If you don’t want everything to shut down for a week, allow employees to work from home. This will make it easier for those who want to travel, but can still work for you remotely. Likewise, consider giving employees flexible hours. This can help them buy any gifts or attend holiday events. Your paralegals will be happy to have some of the holiday stress taken away by your kindness!
Decorate your office
If you haven’t already, decorate your office! Consider putting up lights and other decorations that bring out the festiveness of the season but that stay away from more religious motifs. Your paralegals’ spirits will be automatically lifted if they enter an office that’s glowing with lights and paper snowflakes, especially during the winter months when nights are long. You can even keep the lights up in January, to make those winter nights shorter!
Have a holiday party
Throw a holiday party to allow your workers to relax, mingle, and strengthen their relationships with each other! They’ve worked so hard for you for a whole year, and they want to stay festive. Just like many families have holiday traditions, you can start holiday traditions in your office as well. Your employees will look forward to those holiday traditions all year long!
This can help your firm feel more united and will ensure that everyone’s part of the same team. Not everyone celebrates holidays or has the opportunity to see their friends or family during the holidays. Therefore, your party can also provide a festive outlet and community for those who may not have as many fun plans during the season.
If you didn’t have a holiday party yet, it’s not too late. Many offices have holiday parties in January. It’s usually cheaper if you’re renting a venue and it might be easier to coordinate with your employees. Most employees are busy in December but are free again in January, so there may be a higher chance of attendance if you host the party then. Plus, January sometimes seems like a bummer month after the festiveness of December, so this party can raise your workers’ spirits!
Volunteer
The holidays often remind us of our community and giving back. Therefore, volunteer at a local organization, or a cause that’s related to your area of law. For instance, if your community has a toy drive, consider donating toys, helping the charity wrap them, and deliver them.
Or, suppose you’re a Social Security disability attorney. Consider donating or volunteering at organizations that serve people with disabilities, such as the Epilepsy Foundation or the National Federation of the Blind.
Volunteering will help your community, make you and your employees happy, and can help you network with the organization. Afterwards, you might see that organization sending referrals your way.
Instead of being an office Grinch, encourage your employees to feel happy and festive this holiday season. Just remember what Cindy Lou Who said - “No matter how different a Who may appear, he will always be welcomed with holiday cheer.” Happy Holidays!