A Season for Grace: Supporting Mental Health at Work
The holiday season can bring joy, connection, and celebration, but it can also bring pressure, grief, and exhaustion. Some of your team members may be counting down the days to their favorite traditions, while others may be facing their first holiday without a loved one or feeling the stress of end-of-year deadlines. As a leader, it’s important to make mental health part of the conversation. It starts with awareness, empathy, and a few intentional choices to show people you see them as more than just employees.
Begin by listening to your team. And not just to what they say, but to what they don’t. If someone declines the holiday party, respect their choice. Let them know you would love to have them join but understand if they prefer not to. There may be reasons that celebration feels heavy this year and honoring that boundary builds trust far more than forcing participation ever could.
Give your team permission to take real breaks. With so many events, meetings, and celebrations, employees often feel pressure to make up the time later. Remind them a few minutes of rest can restore more focus than an hour of overtime ever could.
Reshare information about the resources your organization offers. If you have counseling services or wellness programs, send a message to the entire team as a friendly reminder. Avoid sending it only to those you think may need it. The person who appears to be holding everything together might be the one struggling the most.
Be open about expectations. If you know productivity may dip during the holidays, communicate what absolutely needs to be done and what can wait until the new year. Setting clear priorities helps relieve the hidden pressure many employees carry to “do it all” before the break.
Keep celebrations inclusive. If your team does a gift exchange, set a price limit and honor it. Simple, thoughtful gestures have just as much impact as expensive ones.
Lastly, respect time boundaries. Many of us think that if we text an employee while they are on PTO, they can answer when it’s convenient. But often, employees feel they need to respond right away. That one quick question might pull them out of a once-in-a-lifetime moment, like their baby’s first Santa picture. Be intentional about protecting those personal times. You never know what magical holiday memory you might be interrupting.
And remember to extend that same grace to yourself. Leadership during the holidays can be demanding, especially when you’re trying to keep everyone supported and everything on track. Give yourself permission to pause, to recharge, and to set boundaries of your own. Your team benefits most from a leader who models balance, not burnout.
Most of all, remember that your team is made up of people, each moving through their own season of life. Some are joyful. Some are grieving. Some are just tired. What they all need most is a little compassion and understanding.
Sometimes, the best gift you can give your team is permission to breathe. Jennifer Ericson, SHRM-SCP, is a consultant focused on leadership, culture, and people strategy. She also serves as a SHRM-CP instructor and board member of Yuma’s SHRM chapter.
