How to manage when you work on or through the holidays

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I’m lucky this year considering that I essentially have the whole week off for Christmas and half a week for Thanksgiving, but I haven’t always been that lucky.

If you work in retail, emergency personnel, the news industry, or any other industry that don’t guarantee holidays off, working on or through the holidays can be difficult.

Many professions require you to work on a holiday or through the holidays. It’s not always a fun time but it can reap a lot of benefits.

If you’re working on a holiday, you could be doing it for several reasons. Some reasons I worked on a holiday was due to:

• Getting a higher pay rate - my job paid us time and a half on holidays

• Letting others with small families have time together - my family was across the continent so we usually waited for one holiday together to celebrate rather than across three

• Coworker holidays - most of my coworkers have tried to make the most out of the holiday season and have hosted events at work or their homes during the holiday season

These are only a few of the reasons and there are undoubtedly more reasons why someone would need or choose to work on a holiday.

Most companies that I’ve worked for had their way of working and distributing hours throughout the holidays. Remember, private companies don’t have any federal or state laws that dictate how they distribute their holiday hours or time off for the holidays, nor are they required to pay premium rates, such as pay 1.5 rates, on holidays. Some examples of how my previous employers have used are to rank each holiday to distribute time off throughout our worker’s hours and to blackout certain times during the year to ask off.

Whatever your process is to manage your time off during the holidays, it’s important to manage your time off during the holidays to fit your schedule and your employer’s schedule. Here are a few ways you can manage and make the most of your time for the holidays.

Prioritize which holiday is most important to you

As previously stated, most companies will allow you at least one holiday off if you ask, but they might not give you all of them off.

Determine which holiday your family or friends can condense into one event if you could only choose one. I usually chose New Years because it was close to Christmas and easier to find cheaper flights home compared to Christmas.

It’s important to also know if you can prioritize when you have your holiday festivities during the day. If you can prioritize lunch over dinner or vise-versa, you might still have to work that holiday but still have some time to prioritize to your family on that day as well.

While this isn’t a guarantee, it helps your employer know what’s important to you and how you can manage your time during the holidays.

Be flexible with your time off during the holidays

Remember, you aren’t entitled to time off according to the law. Thus, you need to be as flexible as possible when it comes to asking about time off for the holiday from your employer.

The best option is to be flexible when asking for time off during the holidays. Remember that everyone in your company is asking for time off during various holidays. If not everyone can be off for the holidays in your industry, certain people will have to be able to compromise on the time off they can take off during the holiday.

If you have flight plans it’s important that you present that to your employer, however, this does not mean you will have the time off. Make sure with your employer you can take off at that particular time before purchasing any tickets.

Again, if you have to work on a holiday, see what your family can prioritize during the day when you're available, such as having the morning for presents and Christmas lunch rather than everything be in the afternoon or vice versa.

Talk with coworkers and devise your holiday festivities

If you are asked to work on a holiday, see what your coworkers can do at the office. Many companies allow holiday parties and potlucks to celebrate various holidays, so organizing food and games are helpful to employees needing to work during the holidays.

Many of my coworkers have devised potlucks, hosted after-hours holiday dinners, and organized games or music during the holidays for those working or away from family for the holidays.

Even when it was something small, such as mini stockings filled with treats for your coworkers, making a festive and active holiday environment can help boost morale and productivity in your office.

Related Content: Unique office gift ideas for the holiday season

Know your company’s and state’s holiday policies

Knowing ahead of time what your company’s policies are concerning the holidays will help you know what to expect when they come up. Many companies either have blackout days that you are unable to schedule time off in advance or they have a process to determine when and who can take holidays off.

When it comes to holidays, I don’t suggest asking about it during the hiring process but you might ask for clarification from your company’s Human Resources department. If you are a federal or state employee, your holiday time off is a bit different compared to private companies, but you will still need clarification as to when you are offered time off.

Each state will have different policies in place for time off during the holiday. Most are fairly similar but not the same across the board.

Plan and ask for time off during the holidays in advance

Planning is key here. If you know you need to buy tickets a certain amount of time in advance, talk to your employer so they know and can help accommodate your needs.

A good rule of thumb on when to ask off during the holidays is about 6-8 weeks. If you know before then, you might think about asking earlier but this is normally when employers start thinking about the holiday season and hours they might have to fill.

If you know you have to work one or some of the holiday season, you might start talking with your family and friends to determine any plans that will influence your plans.

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