How to deal with work stresses at Christmas

We’re finally in the run up to Christmas. However, we know how difficult it can be to get in the festive mood when you have deadlines to meet and paperwork to get through. Trying to get all your work done whilst balancing home life, particularly this time of year, is no easy task. Here are a few pointers from Kays Medical to help you look after your mental health and dealing with work stresses at Christmas.

Plan ahead

Thinking about everything you have to get done before the Christmas break can be overwhelming and seem like an impossible task. Instead of overthinking and making things worse, take the time to write yourself a to do list of everything you’ve got to get done before Christmas and what can wait until January (or whenever you’re back in work).

This simple task will give you a clear structure of what needs doing rather than spending your evenings worrying about everything that’s got to be done.

If you’re still thinking you won’t be able to get everything done, talk to your manager. Remember, they’re there to help and could for example share some of your workload to someone else to take the pressure off you.

Take your breaks

While you may want to use your break time to try and cram in some extra work, it’s important that you’re actually taking them. Taking time away from your workspace will put you in a better mood for the rest of your shift and also boost your productivity.

Why not go a step further and use your break time to go on a quick walk? This will help boost your mental health as well as getting a bit of light cardio – win, win!

 Don’t think about your return

No matter how long you get off for your Christmas break, you should be using this time to relax as much as possible. As hard as it may be, avoid checking your work emails or even thinking about work. This is your time to unwind, it’ll still be there waiting for you when you return.

If you’re worried about how much work you’ll be coming back to, maybe block out some time on your first few days to deal with any backlog you may have.

We hope these little tips will help make managing your work a little bit easier – especially when you’ve got a million other things to do.We understand how stressful Christmas time can be, which is why it’s so important to remember to look after your mental health.

If you found this blog helpful, be sure to share it with your colleagues at work. For more support with employee mental health in the workplace, take a look at our Occupational Health services page.