Hitting the Right Holiday Tone
In the middle of a hectic and stressful workday last week, one of my clients received a group email notification from the CEO of her company.
Her first thought was “Oh no - what now?”. Her company, like many others, has had a very tough year. Because of the pandemic, sales are down significantly which has resulted in layoffs, budget cuts and an unpopular management shuffle. Morale is down and it is clear more change, and potentially more layoffs, are on the horizon. From her view, 2020 has been a bad year — and it’s not over yet.
She took a deep breath and opened her email. It was not a difficult message from the CEO, but rather a cheery “Happy Holidays” message with a link to a customized holiday sing-a-long video. My client was stunned. This highly produced video was clearly an expensive project. Given the company’s budget woes and the threat of more layoffs, she felt the message was tone deaf.
As we enter the holiday season, employers are struggling to find the right tone. Gone (for now) are lavish holiday parties and festive team gatherings that show our appreciation. In fact, as I was writing this blog post, another client reached out to get some feedback on a holiday message that was about to go out to the team. I suggested toning down the overly positive message and making it more personal.
Even for those companies doing well during this pandemic, it is equally important to pause and recognize that this holiday period is like no other. The tradition of spreading holiday cheer needs to be balanced with the reality of our employees lives. And the challenges vary person to person. Some are managing their own stress and fears around the pandemic while others are juggling the demands of homeschooling or the anxiety of a partner’s unemployment.
So, what is a leader to do? The answer is in finding the right balance in your message. Simple gratitude and appreciation are themes that resonate right now, along with hope, empathy and understanding.
As we near the end of the year, leaders want to acknowledge and appreciate the contribution of their teams. Rather than conveying a “celebratory” tone, it would be more appropriate to reflect on and acknowledge the year that was and set a hopeful, but realistic, tone for the year ahead.