The holiday season may bring joy and relaxation for some, but for others it can be a time of stress and frustration as things get busier and people become agitated. To help combat any issues or challenges that may arise during this time, we’ve got some helpful tips on how to manage through one of the most stressful times of the year.
Boosting morale
Whether you manage a team at work, or are a part of one, try to find ways to boost morale across the company. If you're a manager, you can do this by recognising good performance and making sure your team members understand their purpose and how they are contributing positively to the company’s greater vision. Ensuring your team members know they're appreciated can go a long way in boosting spirits over the festive season. If you're a part of a team, you can set personal goals to achieve over the holiday period to allow for greater teamwork and collaboration - don't forget the value of simply asking how your teammates are going too.
Taking care of yourself
Make sure you're looking after your health and wellbeing by taking breaks instead of working through, and that you're eating balanced, healthy meals to help power your energy throughout the day. Keeping a good sleep routine is also extremely important - it's recommended by the Sleep Health Foundation that most adults should get between seven to nine hours of sleep a night to feel properly refreshed.
Managing aggressive customers
If you’re in a customer-facing role at work, you may come across an aggressive customer. It's extremely important that you recognise the signs and ways you can prevent situations from occurring. According to Safe Work Australia, workplace violence or aggression can look like the following:
Physical assault such as biting, scratching, hitting, kicking, pushing, grabbing, or throwing objects.
Intentionally coughing or spitting on someone.
Sexual assault or any other form of indecent physical contact.
Harassment or aggressive behaviour that creates a fear of violence such as stalking, sexual harassment, verbal threats and abuse, or yelling and swearing.
Hazing or initiation practices for new or young workers.
Gendered violence, which is any behaviour directed at any person or that affects a person because of their sex, gender or sexual orientation, or because they do not adhere to socially prescribed gender roles, that creates a risk to health and safety.
Violence from a family or domestic relationship when this occurs at the workplace.
Some ways to prevent certain situations from occurring include:
Managing expectations of clients and customers by clearly communicating the nature of the products or services you are providing e.g. online and using signage.
Avoiding the need for workers to work in isolation and monitoring workers when they are working in the community or away from the workplace.
Implementing cash handling procedures.
Providing sufficient workers e.g. during peak periods of customer attendance and for the level of care needed for clients.
Reducing waiting times and missed calls.
Putting up signs at the workplace, such as zero tolerance of aggression and violence, limits on products or services, security cameras are in use, or limited cash is held on the premises.
Training workers in how to deal with difficult customers, conflict resolution, when and how to escalate issues to senior workers, and procedures to report incidents.
Implementing workplace policies which set out standards of behaviour and procedures for what a worker should do if they experience or see violence or aggression and how they can report it.
If you have any questions or need extra support, we're here to help you anytime in any language. Simply start a chat with us via the home screen of the Sonder app.
Information sourced from: Safe Work Australia and The Sleep Health Foundation
Image credit: Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
All content is created and published for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice.