Most jobs have at least one or two warts, those ugly hidden aspects that no one talks about. In Human Resources, one of those warts is dealing with "rules" around the Holiday season. Now that the leaves have turned, it won't be too long before companies around the world are struggling with this perennial issue again. So today I'm going to share some (possibly entertaining) stories about managing holiday decoration issues, and also suggest a few guidelines for avoiding the problems I faced.
At one employer, the duty of drafting the annual "Holiday Policy Email" went to my friend Catherine, and no one begrudged her the task! The trouble with drafting such a horrible piece of communication is that no matter how you word it, someone is bound to take offense. But our leadership team was so worried that the customer service areas would be clogged with a messy assortment of Santas, Menorahs, Trees, Snowmen, and Crucifixes, that they always asked for the email to be sent out describing what was "appropriate" for workplace decorations.
One year employees were encouraged to put up "non-religious" displays such as trees and snowmen. A barrage of email comments followed:
- Christmas trees are Christian, and therefore religious.
- Trees are symbols of Pagan religions, and therefore not secular.
- You can't take the Christ out of Christmas, no matter how hard you try.
- I hope that you in HR have a good "holiday" even though you've sucked all of the joy out of our lives by telling us what we can and cannot do for our "holiday" celebrations. Scrooges!
The following year the "non-religious displays" were encouraged for "public areas", while "private areas" were allowed some leeway. That year the email responses read:
- I work in a "public" area so it's not fair that I'm being treated differently - my coworkers get to put up extra stuff.
- If my coworker starts playing Christmas music in her cubicle I'm going to have a three foot Buddha installed in mine just to make a point.
- My coworker decorated the break room, but that is a "public area" for employees so I demand they get taken down. This isn't her personal space.
- I wish you people in HR would get a little "holiday spirit" and focus on something more important. HIRING perhaps?
As you can imagine, it was easy to feel that this was a "no win situation" and we always hated putting out that email. It was like throwing blood into a pool of sharks.
I'm going to suggest a different idea for any of you struggling with holiday etiquette this season. Rather than having a bunch of "rules" - come up with a philosophy instead. Then allow your employees to interpret this philosophy and have your managers gently correct anything that is too out of line.
For Example:
"To make our customers of all faith-traditions feel comfortable, general holiday decorations in traditional colors will be hung in public areas by our facilities staff. Employees are welcome to decorate private workspaces, so long as the decorations do not disrespect others or interfere with job duties/safety."
Or:
"In line with the Faith-Based Mission of this organization, tasteful Christmas decorations are welcome from December 1st-31st."
And you can always add:
"For questions or clarification on what is acceptable, contact your supervisor."
To avoid holiday craziness - focus on philosophy rather than a laundry list of rules. Then interfere as infrequently as possible. From experience I'd say the less attention you pay to cracking down on holiday merriment, the less likely you are to have people "making a point" through holiday displays at work.
Just a tip from your friendly HR "Scrooge."
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