Maintaining Emotional Well-being During the Holidays
By Adele Clements
As the holiday season approaches, I am reminded how fortunate I am to work for a university that provides broad and meaningful employee assistance programs. For many, the holiday season brings joy and excitement, but it can also bring anxiety, stress and grief. Our HR department’s most recent outreach provided tips for maintaining emotional well-being during the holidays:
Keep a balanced perspective
Healthy routines – regular exercise, nutritious meals – rest and sleep
Be thankful – practice gratitude
Be present – be intentional with mindfulness and relaxation to reduce stress
Create opportunities for connection – Connect with family and friends or look for new ways to build connections through your community or volunteering opportunities
Ask for help – reach out to a trusted family member, colleague if you are struggling
These tips are certainly applicable throughout the year and especially in parking and transportation operations. Parking is stressful. When customers are stressed, they can take this stress out on the first parking or transportation employee they encounter. Encountering stressed customers over, and over, and over can create a stressful environment. It’s important to remind employees of ways to handle this stress in healthy and productive ways. Make resources such as employee assistance programs available. Remind employees to take advantage of those programs and lead by example with self-care.
As you go through this holiday season, take care of yourself. Consider ways to reach out to frontline staff, friends, family, colleagues and remind them about ways to maintain their well-being during the holiday season and throughout the year.
