T’was the Week Before Christmas: 4 Common HR Headaches

Christmas is fast approaching and although it is a very exciting time of year, some employees take it too far and test the limits of others in the workplace. Here Alisa Mistry takes the HR view on how to cure 4 common Christmas (work) headaches caused by party animals in your business.

Staff Fighting

We’ve dealt with our fair share of fisty-cuffs when clients have been unlucky enough to experience this behaviour between their employees. One thing we can vouch for here at HR180 is that they disrupt the workplace and therefore make the business less productive. We believe that you should take preventative measures to avoid staff conflicts to save time, money and stress by:

• Training managers to deal with difficult conversations with employees
• Encouraging employees to express their opinions in appropriate forums and
• Recognising employee’s feelings, listening to their thoughts and taking appropriate action.

Of course, if you do experience aggro in the workplace, suspend, investigate and discipline if needed.

Inappropriate Behaviour

Being ‘Merry’ and enjoying the Christmas festivities can sometimes lead to individuals crossing the line. We think it is important to remind employees that professionalism and respect apply not only in the workplace but also at the Christmas party.

Twitter Trolls

After the drunken Christmas party shenanigans, the last thing you need is the events of the night before plastered on social media. We suggest that any company (big or small), should have a good social media policy. This will make clear the consequences of any inappropriate online behaviour, but also offer a safe space for employees to voice their concerns.

Absent Employees

It’s a given that Christmas is a time for family and that means nobody wants to work. One way to overcome this is by encouraging employees to book time off in advance allowing the workload in the workplace to be spread evenly. Ensure your team knows that being absent without leave is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

After listening to our HR Christmas headaches, make sure you don’t allow the same headaches to disrupt your workplace! After all, ‘tis the season to be jolly!