His elves may not be assembling your new 3-D copier or ergonomic desk, but whether you’ve been naughty or nice, let’s review the gifts we have in hand. Dare we ask for more for ourselves and our clients?
Business thrives in stability, so it’s good news that interest rates are going to stay where they are for now. While the China and Brexit doings will continue to be in the news, more is known about their impact. And it turns out that it DOES rain in California so both fires and ‘no lawn watering’ rules are mostly out of the news. Oh, I know. There is lots of chaos and inequality we need to be sensitive to…and we each must find a way to make positive contributions to those ills whether local or global.
But first we have a pressing task at hand; holidays at the office. I wrote last year about the wisdom and behavior at company parties, so I’ll just guide you to a re-read of those admonitions on our website. https://associationmanagement.biz/general/8-holiday-office-party-donts-or-how-to-avoid-being-in-some-embarrassing-cell-phone-videos/
The subject of employee gifts at the holidays can be uncomfortable. Ads and articles are aplenty offering helpful suggestions for “last minute gifts.’ While a $415 Saint Laurent yoga mat or a $3590 pony-haired backpack might elicit a gasp and potentially an exuberant hug from Jim in accounting, staff wants what we all want – time. Okay, maybe they dream of a bonus. However, every study ever done on the subject tells us that people value time off during the holidays over gifts and even money.
It’s the end of a hard year, a busy year, and hopefully a successful year. Time to reset that work-life balance if only for a week. Then we can hurl ourselves into the next decade with the kind of gifts and gratitude that buoys business. Santa said so.
