Productivity

How do you balance work with Christmas?

Reading time:  3 Minutes

How is your festive work/life balance looking? Whether you need or want to work over Christmas, it’s good to have boundaries in place – for you and your loved ones

 

What’s your position on working over Christmas? Perhaps it’s a quiet time for business, so your company lets everyone down tools for two weeks to enjoy some blissful, uninterrupted family time? Maybe you’re self-employed, or run your own business, so you have more say over your working hours – and nothing’s going to get between you and back-to-back Christmas movies, best enjoyed with a well-stocked cheeseboard.

Taking some time out over Christmas is something many of us eagerly anticipate. It’s a special season, when our focus shifts towards what’s really important in life – or rather, the people who are important. It’s a chance to put in the time, reconnect with family and friends, and form what will later become fond memories. 

Depending on your situation, switching off completely from your career duties may not be an option. Perhaps you’re a freelancer, and holiday pay doesn’t exist in your world. Maybe you’ve got a big deadline looming that’s just going to niggle at you throughout the Christmas and New Year period unless you put in some hours? Maybe you’ve used up your company holiday allowance for the year, and you’re one of the unlucky ones who’ll be manning the office phones and keeping things ticking over while others are on the sofa with a mince pie?

If you’re in the “still working” camp over the festive period, it can be difficult to fulfil the expectations of loved ones who are hoping to see more of you during the holidays. Guilt sets in when you have to leave family celebrations early, or arrive late, or excuse yourself from them altogether, because you need to be in the office (and explaining it to the kids is particularly tricky). What’s more, wildly unpredictable public transport during the holiday season, paired with winter weather, adds travel chaos into the mix – meaning your journey to and from work takes longer than normal, eating into even more time that could be spent rocking around the Christmas tree.

So, what’s the solution? Have any of us truly nailed the art of balancing our working and personal lives over the festive season? For those who have the option to work from home, this at least negates the need to battle public transport or gridlocked roads during the holiday rush. At the same time, if we’re stepping away from the dinner table to take calls, or answering emails while the family is gathered together to open presents, this not only impacts our much-needed personal boundary between home and work: it’s a serious buzzkill for those around us. They want you to be present giving presents, after all. Otherwise, you might as well be in the office.

For these reasons, a physical boundary between work and home needs to be established more so than ever during a special time like this. Opting for a flexible-office space is one way to cut out your commute during the holidays and reap the benefits of working closer to home. As the world’s largest provider of serviced offices and flexible workspace – with 3,000 locations across the globe – Regus gives its members the chance to work from conveniently situated high-quality offices. Regus Centres aren’t just based in inner-city locations either; you’ll also find them in small towns, suburbs, and business parks – there may even be one a short walk from you. And being part of the club has other benefits too. The coworking provider’s 2.5m members can drop in and use the desks, business lounge or meeting rooms of any Regus location in a global network. 

So, if you’re looking ahead to the festive period and wondering how you’re going to fit everything in, how about giving flexspace a go? Why not try it out and see if using a Regus Centre helps you focus, power through your to-do list and then head back home in record time to cosy up with the people who make all the hard work worthwhile?

 

Find out how Regus can help you and your team make the most your time – and not just for Christmas