Be Merry and Mindful During the Holiday Season
It’s that time of year — everywhere you go, the lights are aglow, the air has a bite to it and the stores are full of holiday décor. While some holidays have already passed, many more will soon be upon us, and the truth of the matter is all of your employees may not celebrate the same holidays. That’s why I encourage you to practice DEI mindfulness not only during the upcoming holiday season, but all year long.
The Importance of Holidays
Holidays are important to those who celebrate them, as they usually stem from the person’s culture or religion. They’re a part of a person’s identity, which is why it’s important for your credit union to be mindful of the different holidays that your employees celebrate. When you do this correctly, you create a sense of inclusion and belongingness for your employees, which will result in higher engagement, productivity and retention.
When it comes time to decide which holidays your credit union should recognize and celebrate, it’s imperative that you don’t just assume that certain holidays are important to specific employees because of their religion, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, etc. Your employees will appreciate your efforts more if you ask them which holidays they celebrate or recognize. Do this by conducting a voluntary survey or encouraging your employees to share the holidays that are important to them, as well as what those holidays mean to them. You could ask them, if they are comfortable, to lead a small gathering, explaining what the holiday signifies and how they celebrate it. The most important part is being mindful of all the different holiday celebrations that are important to your employees.
Tips on Being Mindful
There are multiple ways that your credit union can be mindful of the holidays that are important to your employees, both in terms of operations and employee engagement. For operations, it’s important to be mindful of the different celebrations when setting dates for company meetings or events. Make sure that any mandatory activities you schedule don’t fall on the days that your employees may be celebrating important holidays.
In addition, it’s difficult to allow your employees to have every employee-observed holiday off. It’s costly and may negatively impact your members if your institution is closed for every holiday that’s not federally observed, like Thanksgiving or Memorial Day. However, you may still want to allow your employees to celebrate their observed holidays without having to use PTO. A good way to do this would be by offering floating holidays. Floating holidays are not only all-encompassing, but they also allow your employees to take off the holidays that are important to them, rather than giving every employee every holiday off.
From an engagement standpoint, if your credit union decides to celebrate and recognize the holidays that are important to your employees, make sure that the celebratory events are optional. You don’t want to force employees who don’t recognize that holiday to attend the celebrations. In addition, for any holiday that your credit union is celebrating or recognizing on behalf of your employees, provide resources and educational materials on what that holiday signifies. It’s important to ensure that all your employees understand the significance of the holidays that are being recognized, along with why your organization finds it important to be inclusive of all holidays. You could also create a DEI holiday calendar that marks all the dates that are significant to your employees.
While we are in the “holiday season” right now, this shouldn’t be the only time you’re mindful about diverse holidays and celebrations. Your employees most likely celebrate holidays all throughout the year, so make sure that you’re informed about all the celebrations that are important to them. Not only will this show your employees that you’re committed to understanding what days are significant to them, but it also creates that sense of inclusion and belongingness that I mentioned earlier.
No matter what, make sure to remember that we’re all more similar than we are different. All of us engage in celebrations and traditions that are important to us, our identity and our culture. To have a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, it’s imperative that we’re mindful of these holidays and celebrations, and acknowledge the significance behind them.
Melanie Lambie is Vizo Financial’s senior human resources generalist. She has over 15 years of experience in human resources and maintains several certifications, including her Certified Plan Sponsor Professional status from the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA), Professional in Human Resources certification from the HR Certification Institute (HRCI) and Certified Professional designation from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). In May of 2022, she completed the National Credit Union Foundations’ Development Education (DE) program, earning her a Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) designation.