HOW MUCH ‘SLACK’ SHOULD STAFF GET AT CHRISTMAS

Posted on Tuesday, 20th December - 2022, in SEASONAL NEWS and OPINIONS and ADVICE & TIPS, by Saki Mimura

It’s The Time To Be Merry, No One Likes A Grinch… But Where Do You Draw The Line?

It is likely that your company will go into the Christmas holiday for you to take a break from work and enjoy Christmas and the New Year. 

However, This Time Of The Year Might Get Tricky For Your Employees…

HOLIDAY-WORK DILEMMA

During these holiday seasons, you may have experienced the ‘holiday-work’ dilemma. Here’s a classic scenario:

When you are enjoying yourself with your family in the middle of a Christmas party, your phone makes a notification sound. You immediately recognise the sound, which is a notification from your digital platform for work. You now have to decide whether to look at it and be in your work mode to get things done, or ignore it and enjoy the rest of the party. This is the ‘holiday-work’ dilemma.  

This may happen with you even on a daily basis. 

SLACK- GOOD AND BAD

Interestingly, ‘Slack’ is the name of a digital platform that is specifically designed for work communication. If you have ever used Slack for daily business operations with your colleagues, you know what Slack is. It sounds similar to other digital platforms like Facebook Messenger, but it is quite different and useful. It lets you organise conversations not only by your team members but also by your projects through multiple ‘Channels’, and it allows you to send heavy files from Google docs to PDFs.  

However, just like other platforms, Slack’s notification might make you feel very pressured. Especially when it comes to messages from your boss or superiors, you are very likely to feel that you have no choice but to message back as soon as possible, even when it is outside your working hours.  

‘THE RIGHT TO DISCONNECT’

In Europe, ‘the right to disconnect’ is articulated as one of the rights of workers, so that those who work digitally can turn their devices off while they are off duty. In France, it is suggested by law that companies should not interfere with their employees’ private lives and devices should be turned off in a specific period of time. Other EU countries are also following this act to protect employees’ rights. 

In Australia, there is no equivalent statement in national employment law that protects employees’ right to disconnect. However, more organisations, corporations and unions are starting to acknowledge the right and implement it for their employees. 

MAKE THE RULES CLEAR AND ABIDE BY THEM

Therefore, as a manager, it is very important that you clarify what to do and what not to do during holiday seasons in terms of emails and other digital work platforms. You can simply set the rules that your employees should turn off their apps and platforms while on the Christmas holiday and nobody is expected to reply when they are off duty.    

CONCLUSION

Now, it’s your turn. Go ahead and tell your employees to enjoy themselves during the Christmas holidays without having to feel anxious about notifications. It will do you very good because the next time you see your employees, they will be all refreshed and keen to work at their best level.

You are never too early or too late to plan a team building activity. Whether you want to have one before the holiday or after, we are here to help you plan the best-designed activities just for you. Contact us today to get started! And Merry Christmas to you all!

Email us or call 07 3186 1026.