Hanukkah arrives on the same day as Christmas this year--December 25--and Kwanzaa
begins December 26. How will these upcoming holidays affect the workplace? According
to a new poll from Accountemps, most employees get distracted and are less productive.
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Download NowThe poll included responses from 150 senior executives (from HR, finance, and
marketing departments) from the nation's 1,000 largest companies. When asked
"In your opinion, are employees more or less productive the week before
a major holiday?," 42 percent responded that employees where "Somewhat
less" productive, with 2 percent reporting employees were "Much less"
productive.
Meanwhile, 18 percent reported employees were "Somewhat more" productive
and 5 percent responded they were "Much more" productive. Thirty-one
percent said that upcoming major holidays had no impact on productivity.
"Offices are typically less productive during the holidays than at other
times of the year because of the many distractions," noted Max Messmer,
chairman of Accountemps. "This can place pressure on managers and staff
to stay focused on critical end-of-quarter and end-of-year projects."
Accountemps suggested that employees "beat the rush" in order to
remain productive before a major holiday by planning with supervisors and colleagues
and allowing adequate time to prepare for and complete major projects that occur
during the holiday season.