Picking Up the (Holiday) Pace at Work

Do you get more productive at work as the holidays draw near? It seems that a lot of workers pick up the pace, while others struggle to keep up.

A new survey from staffing firm Accountemps uncovered some interesting trends.

Thirty-two percent of workers polled said they become more productive the week before a major holiday. Among the professionals polled, 22% said that their output wanes.

Nearly half, (47%) claimed that there was no change in their output right before a holiday.

Businesses should take note of these findings, since they point out the differing positions of workers and company bosses at this time of year.

For workers, it’s often a hectic time of planning, and preparing for, a big holiday. There’s shopping to do, travel plans to make – and generally lots of activity that has nothing to do with work.

For bosses, these are the last weeks of the fourth quarter, and the year. It’s a time for wrapping up deals, seating new hires and getting the books in order.

Is there a way to resolve these inherent differences? Perhaps bosses could find interesting and creative ways to accommodate their employees’ needs (with flex time, for instance) while extracting a little extra effort here and there when needed.