Preventing Burnout During the 2024 Holiday Season
The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been adequately managed. Everyday life can be hectic enough without the added pressure of the holidays, which can also be a source of major stress and burnout for many people.
A 2024 survey by telemedicine provider Sesame found that 3 out of 5 Americans say their stress levels increase during the holiday season. Planning events, shopping for gifts, navigating family dynamics, and traveling can make people feel overwhelmed and exhausted.
Even though levels of burnout are high, there are ways to help avoid and manage it so you can enjoy your holiday season. This article highlights tips to help prevent burnout during the 2024 holiday season.
Set Realistic Expectations
When the holidays hit, there may be many moving pieces to consider for a successful holiday season. Setting realistic expectations is crucial so you don’t overcommit yourself or fall into the trap of perfectionism.
One easy switch is to send holiday e-cards versus sending physical cards. This can help you connect with loved ones while saving time putting together envelopes and postage. Other ways to help keep tasks realistic during the holidays are to break down goals into digestible tasks, set timelines and reward yourself for checking items off your to-do list. It’s essential to keep your holiday commitments manageable to avoid burning out.
Start Early
No matter your holiday plans, spreading out your tasks and starting early will help with stress levels. This way, you won’t be waiting until the last minute to complete tasks and rushing through responsibilities. Consider the following ways to prepare ahead of time:
- Send digital invitations for parties or hosted events at least two weeks in advance.
- Make necessary purchases a few weeks ahead of time.
- Decorate a few days before any hosted events.
- Arrange food plans, such as who’s bringing certain dishes to share, at least one week in advance.
Planning ahead and starting early on tasks will help prevent last-minute stressors. It may also be helpful to create a schedule that balances holiday activities with downtime. Prioritize tasks and delegate when possible.
Take Time to Recharge
Regular breaks from daily stressors can prevent burnout by helping your body and mind relax and recharge. Rest restores your energy, boosts your mood and increases productivity. It’s essential to make time for activities that refuel you, such as reading, spending time with friends and going on outdoor walks. Try to create a balanced schedule that allows for this type of self-care.
Maintain Boundaries
It’s important to set boundaries between the time you can take to accomplish tasks and the time you need to rest. Boundaries protect your emotions and your physical space. They can be a healthy strategy as you navigate the holiday season and a full calendar. To maintain healthy boundaries, you can avoid overcommitment by scaling back on tasks and having a firm end time for parties. You can also try to compromise on events so you don’t get burned out; for example, you could say “no” to an all-day gift exchange but make time to stop by for a couple of hours to see loved ones. Don’t feel guilty about setting boundaries. The less stress you have to endure, the more fun the overall experience will be.
Conclusion
Burnout during the holiday season is common, but you can practice strategies to manage or even prevent it. If you’re experiencing burnout and these tips aren’t helping, reach out to a doctor or mental health professional.
Preventing Employee Fraud
Employee fraud is when an employee knowingly lies to, steals from or deceives their employer to make personal gains. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, this type of fraud occurs in approximately two-thirds of U.S. small businesses. In fact, small businesses face a higher risk of employee fraud than large corporations. This is often due to a lack of basic accounting controls and a higher degree of misplaced or assumed trust.
Organizations with the fewest employees have the highest median loss
in employee fraud cases, according to the Association of Certified
Fraud Examiners.
- Asset misappropriation—This type of fraud accounts for the vast majority of fraud schemes and includes check forgery, theft of money, inventory theft, payroll fraud and theft of services.
- Bribery and corruption—Such methods include kickbacks, shell company schemes, bribes to influence decision-making, manipulation of contracts and substitution of inferior goods.
- Financial statement fraud—This type of fraud is the rarest yet costliest. It entails manipulating financial statements to create financial gains for an individual or entity.
It can be difficult to spot employee fraud. Therefore, it’s important for small business employers to be aware of employee behavior and other signs that may indicate fraud occurring within the organization. Employers should look out for the following:
- An employee working longer hours than usual—Continually coming in early, staying late, working on weekends, and not taking sick leave or annual paid time off could be signs of employee fraud. Fraudsters often avoid taking time off because they don’t want people to review their work. In addition, fraudulent activities often occur outside of regular business hours, when the employee is less likely to get caught.
- An employee being secretive—If an employee is reluctant to share their processes or have someone review their work, they may be committing employee fraud.
- An employee who works in a position to commit fraud—Employees who have worked at a business the longest are often the most likely to commit fraud. This could be because they have more trust, know the company’s weaknesses or can control what appears on paper.
- Accounts receivable that are suspicious or inconsistent—Excessive or unexplained cash transactions; unreconciled bank account statements; sudden activity in previously inactive accounts; and an unusual increase in expenses, supplies or employee reimbursements can all indicate employee fraud.
Employee fraud can be particularly devasting for small businesses, as they often have fewer resources available to help them recover from malicious acts. As such, it’s essential for small businesses to take the following actions to prevent employee fraud:
- Create a tip hotline. Whistleblower tips are the most common way employee fraud is discovered. Therefore, employers should take tips seriously and set up a hotline to catch fraud earlier and minimize losses.
- Perform background checks. Contacting references, performing background checks and conducting online research can help small businesses vet candidates before hiring them.
- Implement internal controls. While employees need a certain level of trust and authority to do their jobs, internal controls can help detect and hopefully deter fraudulent activities. Such controls can include clearly defining what constitutes fraud in the employee handbook, setting up an anonymous hotline and performing monthly bank reconciliations.
- Create a culture of integrity. Consistent controls and policies can create a culture that empowers staff to be accountable for their actions and minimize risk while driving compliance.
- Purchase insurance. Insurance, particularly commercial crime insurance, can help small businesses protect themselves from business-related financial losses.
By identifying signs of fraud, taking precautions and implementing internal controls, small businesses can limit their risk of employee fraud.
Reports Find Workers Likely to Explore Job Market in 2025
Although employee quits have trended down in 2024, industry reports indicate that employee turnover could rise in the next year as workers choose to explore the job market.
The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employee quits decreased to 3.07 million in September, consistently trending down from record-high levels in 2022. Employee quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. As such, the quit rate serves as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. This means workers are staying in their current jobs, potentially due to reduced optimism about the job market.
However, market trends could shift back to workers more confidently exploring the job market. EY’s 2024 Work Reimagined Survey report found that 38% of employees are likely to leave their jobs in the next year.
The survey revealed that employees are generally searching for the following benefits:
- Bonus and incentives: 37%
- Health and well-being benefits: 33%
- Paid time off: 33%
- Compensation tied to cost of living: 31%
- Flexible schedules: 30%
- Work from anywhere/remote: 22%
- Training classes to build skills: 21%
“The global workforce has evolved into one with personalized experiences and expectations, increasingly disconnected from one-size-fits-all ideas of career, total rewards and work location.” –
EY’s 2024 Work Reimagined Survey report
Similar to EY’s findings, Eagle Hill Consulting recently issued a report signaling that employee turnover could increase through early 2025.
What’s Next
The labor market will likely continue to adapt in the coming year. While employee quit rates have been trending down in 2024, an evolving talent landscape could become more worker-friendly and allow employees more leverage in exploring more employment opportunities. Agile employers will develop attraction and retention strategies that meet the changing needs of the workforce.
Small businesses should continue to monitor labor market trends to inform their specific attraction and retention strategies. Contact us today for more small business resources.
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