Help Your People Combat Festive Fatigue

We all know that familiar feeling of running out of steam as the year comes to a close. After months of festive stress, family responsibilities, financial pressures, and perhaps even personal challenges, many of us may feel tired and irritable during the race towards the finish line.  

With personal and professional demands running high throughout this period, your people are likely to be feeling this sense of fatigue more so than at any other time of the year. Add in the strain of meeting end of year targets and deadlines, and your organisation may experience issues with productivity, engagement, and employee retention.  

The World Health Organization (WHO) characterises end of year burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” In order to tackle this stress, it’s important to know how to spot the signs of an overwhelmed employee.  

According to Very Well Health, the symptoms of workplace fatigue include:  

• Weakness 
• Lack of energy 
• Constant tiredness or exhaustion 
• Lack of motivation 
• Difficulty with concentration  
• Difficulty starting and completing tasks  
• Headaches 
• Dizziness 
• Sore muscles 
• Slow reflexes/responses 
• Impaired judgement/decision making 
• Mood change 
• Loss of appetite 
• Reduced immune system function 
• Memory problems 

So, now we know what to look out for, let’s take a closer look at the risks of employee fatigue. Underpinned by a decline in mental and physical performance resulting from prolonged exertion and sleep loss, a burnt-out workforce can have serious implications – including:  

• Reduced attention span 
• Delayed reactions 
• Impaired co-ordination 
• Decreased awareness 
• Underestimation of risk 
• Memory lapses  
• Reduced ability to process information 

When end of year stress seeps into sleep quality and stops employees getting a full eight hours of rest, it can cost employers around 3.7 workdays a year in productivity. It can also result in higher levels of absenteeism, presenteeism (being physically present at work but not fully functioning), healthcare costs, injuries, and expensive workplace accidents.  

How to Reduce Festive Fatigue  

With 35% of people admitting that they feel exhausted before Christmas arrives and 32% of workers saying they won’t switch off over the festive season, it’s vital that employers take every step to combat this seasonal slump.  

Invest in a comprehensive employee wellbeing programme – By taking a proactive approach to your employees’ wellbeing, you can ensure your people stay present and productive without reaching crisis point. That’s why we offer a variety of ways to support your people during the stressful festive period – and beyond.  

Your Care is an all-encompassing wellbeing platform that offers a range of personal, emotional, and financial wellbeing tools to keep your people on their feet. With a variety of online wellbeing assessments, health and fitness apps, and a resource library with blogs, videos and more, Your Care gives staff the tools they need to tackle life’s ups and downs in a solution-focused way.    

With Vivup’s Online GP Service, staff can access private GP appointments at any time, from any location through a choice of phone, video, or message consultations.   

Through our Employee Assistance Programme, you can connect your people to confidential and impartial expert support and counselling 24/7, 365 days a year, enabling them to access the right help at the right time.    

Make employee recognition part of your company culture – It’s no secret that a happy workplace is a more productive workplace. In fact, 75% of employees believe they would feel more satisfied in their jobs if they received at least one form of positive recognition per month, and 63% would not look for new roles if their work was consistently recognised.  

Whether it’s a reward for hitting a target, a long service award, or a simple thank you for a job well done, you can increase employee engagement, boost team morale, and give your staff the appreciation they deserve with our very own in-house recognition and reward app: Vivup highfive.    

The broad appeal of Vivup highfive can support your organisation with:   

• Reducing absenteeism   
• Supporting your staff by recognising achievements and celebrating success   
• Attracting and retaining talent   
• Growing a positive workplace culture   

Address financial stress - For many employees, managing finances can be a real struggle - especially when it comes to budgeting festive essentials and covering unexpected appliance breakdowns in the runup to Christmas.    

By introducing a range of salary sacrifice benefits, you can enable your people to spread the cost on the items they want and need via manageable monthly payments made straight from their salaries.  

This not only makes accessing essential products more affordable, but also provides a simple way for your people to cover the cost of unexpected appliance breakdowns without having to rely on expensive loans and credit cards.   

Additionally, with our Lifestyle Savings employee benefit, your people can unlock a huge range of discounts from the nation’s leading retailers, restaurants, supermarkets, utility providers, and more. With the mounting expenses of the festive season only exacerbated by the ongoing cost-of-living hike, these savings can help to reduce financial stress and help staff keep their budgets on track.  

About Vivup    

As a leading employee benefits provider, we deliver an all-encompassing employee engagement platform that connects workforces, improves employee wellbeing, and boosts loyalty across organisations.      

We’re on a mission to help UK employers win the war on talent, and we aim to achieve this by delivering comprehensive health and wellbeing packages to over 2,000 public and private sector organisations across the UK. We currently support more than 2.5 million employees to manage their mental, physical, and financial wellbeing both in and out of the workplace.  

Get in Touch Today    

To learn more about how Vivup can help you deliver meaningful employee benefits that really make a difference, be sure to get in touch today. Give our friendly team a call on 01252 784540, or email info@vivup.co.uk to request a platform demo.