WRITTEN BY ALICIA KOCH, FOUNDER OF THE LEGAL BELLETRIST
Click here for Part I: The End-of-Year Crunch is Always Nuts – Especially for individuals …
Just as it is in our personal lives, the end-of-year rush takes hold at work too. As deadlines tighten, budgets close and projects demand wrapping up, teams everywhere find themselves hurtling toward December with little time to rest. The pace quickens, expectations rise and even the most cohesive teams can begin to feel the strain.
In theory, this should be the season for celebration: a chance to recognise collective achievements and enjoy the camaraderie built over the year. Yet, more often than not, it becomes a blur of back-to-back meetings, last-minute deliverables and frantic attempts to “get everything done before the holidays”. The joy of teamwork gives way to the tyranny of ticking boxes.
Perfection takes priority over presence and connection is lost in the noise of productivity. The focus shifts from collaboration to completion, leaving even the strongest teams drained and disconnected.
This time of year doesn’t have to be about survival. With a more mindful and intentional approach, teams can finish the year with focus, appreciation and energy, not exhaustion. It’s about swapping stress for strategy and rediscovering the meaning behind working together.
Preparing for year-end pressures
How teams can prepare for the end of the year silliness
Year-end pressures can be overwhelming for both leaders and teams. Here are some ways to mitigate the stress and maintain well-being –
Setting clear expectations and workload management
- Communicate targets realistically – define achievable end-of-year goals (yes be realistic) and deadlines without creating an overwhelming workload (because that would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?).
- Prioritise tasks – focus on tasks with the highest impact and delegate or postpone others if at all possible. Learn to say no, prioritise and ask for help.
- Break down large projects – divide major tasks into smaller, manageable milestones to maintain momentum and avoid burnout. After all, this is the end of the year, set your tasks at an achievable level. Tackle the most important things first. Leave the rest, if you can, until the New Year.
- Allocate tasks fairly – distribute responsibilities based on individual capacity and capabilities to ensure no one is overloaded, overwhelmed and stressed out. It’s their end of the year too. Remember that.
- Plan in advance – look at the calendar and determine resource needs, potential flexibility options and celebration plans before the busy season begins.
Protecting boundaries
- Encourage employees to set boundaries – leaders should encourage and commend employees for establishing their own boundaries and model this behaviour themselves. Lead by example as they say.
- Communicate boundaries clearly – employees should define and communicate their work hours and availability to colleagues and clients, clearly but politely. Sometimes a firm word is required.
- Practice saying no – learn to politely decline tasks that exceed capacity and bandwidth. You matter too.
- Disconnect after hours – encourage employees to unplug from work-related communications during off-hours. Unless it’s life threatening, after-hours should be sacrosanct.
- Seek support – employees should feel comfortable discussing their workload and seeking help from managers or colleagues if they are overwhelmed. Delegation is important and sometimes very necessary. Leaders and employees must be open to this.
Creating space for reflection and closure
- Encourage breaks and downtime – regular breaks throughout the workday and during the holiday season are essential for recharging and maintaining focus. It’s no longer a bum on seats scenario and burning the midnight oil is so old school. We have moved beyond that now and recognise that burnout is real. Downtime is, in fact, necessary.
- Promote self-care – encourage practices such as adequate sleep, healthy eating, exercise and mindfulness techniques.
- Reflect on the year’s successes and challenges – before the break, leaders and teams can reflect on achievements, lessons learned and areas for improvement, helping to build momentum for the new year.
- Celebrate wins – acknowledge and celebrate achievements, both big and small, to boost morale and engagement.
- Recharge intentionally – take time to rest and reset to ensure a refreshed start to the New Year.
The end of the year doesn’t have to feel like a mad dash to the finish. With a bit of planning, clearer priorities and a few well-placed “no’s”, it can be a time to thrive rather than merely survive.
In the workplace, that means creating a culture that supports people; one that values wellbeing as much as performance. Open, honest communication is vital. Speak up when you’re stretched, ask for help, delegate where you can and support one another through the crunch.
If you or your team could use some guidance navigating this busy season, reach out to Frieda Levycky at Braving Boundaries. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is ask for help, whatever time of year it may be.
(Sources used and to whom we owe thanks – Gould Training; LinkedIn here and here and Amazing Business).
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