BGSF’s Post

### The Magic of the Holidays at Work As the year comes to a close, the holiday season offers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate achievements and foster connections among colleagues. Here are a few ways to make the most of this festive time at work: #### Celebrate Diversity Embrace the variety of traditions celebrated by your team. Consider hosting a “Holiday Around the World” event where employees can share their customs and favorite foods. This promotes inclusivity and encourages understanding among colleagues. #### Team Bonding Activities Organize fun events like a holiday potluck, Secret Santa gift exchange, or a festive trivia game. These activities strengthen relationships and create lasting memories, reminding everyone of the importance of camaraderie. #### Giving Back Inspire generosity by implementing a charitable initiative, such as a toy drive or volunteering as a team. Giving back not only helps those in need but also fosters a sense of purpose and community within the workplace. #### Flexible Schedules Recognize the pressures of balancing work and personal commitments during the holidays. Offering flexible schedules or additional time off shows that you value your team’s well-being, leading to increased motivation and productivity. #### Acknowledge Achievements End the year by celebrating the hard work of your team. Host a year-end celebration to recognize individual and team accomplishments, fostering a culture of appreciation and inspiring continued excellence. ### Conclusion The holidays at work are about more than just festivities; they’re an opportunity to create a sense of community, celebrate diversity, and spread joy. Let’s embrace the spirit of the season and make this holiday time memorable for everyone!

Wrapping Up the Year: Celebrate the season together! 3. SHOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE. When you show compassion, you show your human side to your employees, and they see you as understanding and empathetic. Personal issues can affect how employees accomplish their day-to-day work duties, and especially around the holidays, individuals and families may struggle to fit in all the family activities, additional extracurricular activities and work events that come their way. Employees are motivated by more than money. They appreciate things like autonomy, flexibility, recognition and time off. At the holidays, lean into this knowledge by being flexible, allowing scheduling changes when possible and recognizing your professionals for all the hard work they did throughout the year. When you show understanding and trust to your teams, they will reward you with their loyalty and hard work. We’d love to hear from YOU! How do you and your team show compassion and care during the holidays? 👉 Comment below with how you support your employees, offer flexibility, or recognize their hard work. 👉 Share your story to inspire others to foster understanding and trust this holiday season! Let’s lead with empathy and create workplaces that truly care for their people. 💙✨ #CompassionateLeadership #HolidaySupport #LeadershipInAction

It’s that time of year…the mandatory potlucks, the strongly encouraged happy hours, the white elephant gifting. I used to believe that all these events helped create community at work. But the exhaustion and extra work that these added to an already busy and short month would not leave me feeling closer to my co-workers, instead they left me feeling drained. “But, Alondra, we’re like a family at work, these holiday activities are part of it all! Cheer up, scrooge!” I hear you, we all like how it feels to belong to a community (hello, that’s my whole jam), and I ask you to consider: -How much extra work is being asked of you, my BIPOC friend, during this time to create a holiday experience for your work “family”? -Do you actually enjoy doing all the extra? In communities where my time is honored and respected through  -equitable pay for extra work being performed and -real choice in activities outside of work hours the words “work family” are not thrown around because that’s not a real thing. It’s a form of gaslighting to get BIPOC workers to do extra. So this month and every month, consider why you’re doing the extra and if you actually enjoy it. This holiday season, what boundaries are you setting to protect your time and energy? I’d love to hear how you’re navigating these expectations.

🎄 Embracing the Holiday Spirit at Work 🎁 As the holiday season approaches, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the importance of connection, appreciation, and inclusivity in the workplace. The holidays mean different things to everyone, and it’s essential to create an environment where all employees feel valued and included. Here are a few ways we as HR Leaders can help foster a joyful and inclusive workplace this season: ✨ Celebrate Diversity: Recognize and respect the various traditions your team observes. A diverse holiday calendar or a "share your tradition" initiative can go a long way. ✨ Show Appreciation: A heartfelt thank-you, small token of appreciation, or team lunch can remind employees how much they’re valued. ✨ Promote Work-Life Balance: Encourage your team to take time off to recharge and spend time with loved ones. It's a busy time of year—let’s support one another in balancing work and personal commitments. ✨ Give Back: Organize charitable initiatives, like a toy drive or volunteering event, to spread kindness beyond the workplace. The holidays are more than just decorations and gifts—they’re about community. Let’s take this opportunity to strengthen our workplace bonds and celebrate what makes our teams special. How is your company spreading holiday cheer this year? I’🎅🎁 #HumanResources #HolidaySeason #EmployeeEngagement #WorkplaceCulture

As the holiday season approaches, I wanted to touch base with you about something that's close to my heart — fostering holiday joy at work and elevating team spirit. This time of year offers a unique opportunity to bring positivity and camaraderie into the workplace, and I'd love to share some insights on how you can do just that. 1. The Gift of Appreciation Start by showing appreciation for your team's hard work throughout the year. A simple "thank you" or a heartfelt note can go a long way in making your team feel valued. 2. Festive Decorations Add a touch of holiday magic to your workspace with decorations. Encourage team members to get creative and contribute to the festive atmosphere. 3. Holiday Activities Plan fun holiday activities like a secret Santa gift exchange, cookie decorating contest, or a virtual holiday party to bring your team closer together. 4. Giving Back Consider giving back to the community as a team. Volunteering or organizing a charitable drive can instill a sense of purpose and unity. 5. Flexible Schedules Acknowledge that the holidays can be a busy time for your team members. Offer flexibility in work schedules to accommodate personal commitments. 6. Celebrate Diversity Remember that not everyone celebrates the same holidays. Embrace diversity by acknowledging and respecting various traditions within your team. 7. Reflect and Set Intentions Encourage your team to reflect on their accomplishments from the past year and set intentions for the year ahead. Share your own reflections and goals as well. 8. Gratitude Promote a culture of gratitude by encouraging team members to express what they're thankful for. Consider a "gratitude jar" where everyone can share their thoughts. Creating a positive and uplifting work environment can make a difference in the energy and quality of work that comes from your team. Let's make this holiday season a joyful and memorable one! Here’s to bringing intentionality to your team culture! Jane Lee BDM Solutions, LLC

In the spirit of workplace cultural and #psychologicalhealthandsafety, it’s important to be mindful of how holiday traditions like Secret Santa, monetary contributions, and office Christmas decoration competitions can impact all employees. For diasporan staff, who often support families both here and back home, even a small request—like contributing $10—can add stress. They may feel compelled to contribute out of conformity or fear of being misunderstood or shamed. Before organizing office holiday activities, such as decoration competitions, consider those who may not celebrate Christmas or those for whom such traditions could be culturally unsafe. To ensure inclusivity and fairness, focus on connection-building activities that don’t require financial contributions or impose specific cultural norms. While celebrating diversity is important, it’s equally crucial to center inclusion in everything we do and avoid imposing dominant traditions and values on everyone. How do you cultivate equity, inclusion and belonging in your workplace? Do you say “Merry Christmas” to everyone, making it awkward for those who don’t celebrate, or do you say “Happy Holidays” and respect the diversity of your colleagues? Let’s celebrate the holidays in ways that foster #culturalpluralism joy, unity, and #culturalsafety, without placing undue financial or emotional burdens on anyone.

Something I've been pondering for a while: There are some unwelcoming and exclusive things I still see from some tech companies that I think they just aren't aware of. How can we get a list of lesser-talked-about DEI concerns? Examples in no particular order: - gifts of alcohol - alcohol-based environments like happy hours - team dinners before sunset at certain times of years - no alternatives to coffee but water - Christmas-associated decor being the only major decor event in the office - automatically adjusting workloads for December but not thinking about January, February, March, April, June, or October - not proactively offering various interview cycle adjustments/accommodations - automated birthday announcements - birthday PTO rather than a floating holiday - default assumption someone will have a baby shower - holiday parties in December instead of something more shared, such as January (maybe split between calendar and lunar new year dates) - thinly disguised Christmas traditions ('holiday trees' with 'yankee swaps') - meat-prioritized meals - baby photo games - implicitly mandatory childhood or family story sharing - physical team building activities without equally good alternatives - group calls where all input must be verbal and/or on the spot - lack of shared written summaries or notes for information shared verbally (including decks with no speaker notes) - no common location to give guidance on name pronunciation - required availability 8-5 rather than core hours with flexibility - back to back meetings (to be fair, I think introducing significant break/solo work times would benefit everyone!) What else? This isn't an attempt to kill fun or ruin traditions. There are a million other fun traditions that originate in a lot of minority communities of all kinds, and you can expand what you do rather than eliminate it. And you don't suck for not having thought about these before, nor for doing most of the things on the list. But I think they are things we should discuss and consider. #DEI #inclusivity #diversity #inclusiveworkplaces

KEEP YOUR TEAM MOTIVATED & ENGAGED THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAY SEASON... The holiday season can make it harder for employees to focus at work, as personal commitments and stress start to pile up. However, there are ways to boost team morale and keep everyone motivated during this busy time. With tight deadlines and more family obligations, motivation can slip. To prevent this, plan ahead with schedules that ensure full coverage while allowing time off for everyone. Supporting your team is key during the holidays. Even though work can pile up, make sure to add some fun into the mix. Volunteer at a charitable organization during company time. Hold a themed desk decorating contest, a Secret Santa gift exchange, or a holiday trivia competition to boost energy and team spirit. You can also organize team-building activities like a holiday scavenger hunt, volunteering at a food pantry or collecting coats, gingerbread house building competition, or holiday movie night to keep everyone engaged. The more festive and creative, the better! Don’t forget to recognize your team’s hard work. A Wall of Gratitude or personalized holiday gifts or cards can go a long way. If possible, let employees work from home a few days a week to ease the holiday balance. This shows trust and helps them manage work and family time better. CANOPY | Professional Search & Recruiting #2024holidays #Workplacemotivation Gloria Geraci | Janice Kim, PHR, SHRM-CP | Ryan Petruccelli | Michelle Sotnikow

The workplace isn't just where we clock in and out – it's where meaningful connections bloom and professional relationships transform into genuine friendships. As you plan your holiday gatherings, we want to help you craft an environment where everyone can truly celebrate and feel welcome. We've compiled some tips for organizations and individuals looking to navigate the festive season thoughtfully. Because the best celebrations are the ones where everyone feels they can authentically participate and enjoy themselves 🥂 Here is our holiday party guide to help navigate the silly season for good vibes only 🥂🧀💃