Christmas is just around the corner, and many healthcare workers are already feeling the holiday rush. That’s because the holiday months often increase hospital visits and admissions. As a result, most nurses are expected to cover nursing shifts throughout the holiday season, which can cause nurses to mutter “Bah humbug” under their breath. With that in mind, there are plenty of ways management can boost morale and lift the spirits of healthcare employees working during peak holiday hours. To begin, healthcare managers can come up with a few holiday employee engagement ideas to support staff scheduled to work through the holidays. Read on for some awesome Christmas staff morale boosters and how managers can keep the Grinch from stealing holiday cheer from their hardest-working healthcare employees.
Ideas for Boosting Staff Morale during Christmas
Nursing professionals who work in hospitals have a lot on their plates this holiday season. That’s because not only do the majority of nurses have to work long shifts due to increased hospital admissions, but nurses may also have the pressure of planning holiday activities outside of work. Consequently, many nurses can experience feelings of burnout while working during the holidays, which is why it’s even more important that healthcare managers incorporate a fair holiday scheduling system for nurses. This system may include implementing an efficient holiday rotation scheme that requires managers to assign nurses for shifts well in advance as well as allow nurses to request time off. This type of advanced scheduling can help eliminate scheduling confusion over the holidays and secure coverage where needed most. More importantly, fair holiday scheduling for nurses can boost employee morale by rewarding nurses with the time off that they desire.
Holiday Check-In Questions
Healthcare managers can boost staff morale for nurses working during Christmas by coming up with a few holiday check-in questions. Holiday check-in questions can be created in the form of an anonymous questionnaire that asks employees how they are currently feeling about their workload, responsibilities, and overall morale. Additionally, managers could organize a holiday staff meeting with Christmas snacks and a few holiday ice-breaker check-in questions. For example, fish bowl games are fun ways for holiday employees to get to know each other more. A fish bowl game is created by using a clear fish bowl filled with folded pieces of paper with various holiday ice-breaker questions. Holiday ice-breaker questions could include asking employees to describe their dream vacation, share an interesting fact about themselves, or recall one funny work memory. Moreover, a warm and fuzzy fishbowl team-building activity involves employees anonymously writing something they love about another colleague and putting it back into the fishbowl for the manager to read aloud. Essentially, all these team-building activities can have a huge impact on overall employee morale. Healthcare managers looking for inspiration can check out a list of creative team-building questions here.
Christmas Gift Ideas for Nursing Staff to Reward Your Employees
The holidays are a season of giving. And perhaps the people who give the most during the holidays are those who work in healthcare settings caring for people who are sick or injured. Considering that fact, nurses absolutely deserve to be recognized for all their hard work and dedication. And as it turns out, Christmas is the perfect opportunity for healthcare managers to come up with some great Christmas gift ideas for nursing staff. Gift-giving activities may entail managers organizing a secret Santa, a Yankee swap, or simply rewarding each nursing employee with a personalized Christmas ornament. Furthermore, healthcare human resources departments could provide monetary bonuses that are distributed to all healthcare workers equally. Additionally, an employer may gift nursing professionals with holiday baskets or gift certificates. In all cases, rewarding healthcare employees with gifts will certainly add a bit of cheer to employee morale.
Under the Mistletoe
At the end of the day, it’s really the little things that can help managers boost employee morale. In other words, in addition to fair holiday scheduling and gift-giving, managers could also decorate a medical setting with creative Christmas decorations to help lift employee morale around the holidays. Ultimately, managers should foster a safe, fun, and positive work environment for all healthcare professionals working during the holiday season. After all, tis’ the season to give back and show appreciation for healthcare heroes who show up for their patients day after day.
