Once again, it is the most wonderful time of the year!
Contents:
Whether you celebrate Christmas in its traditional glory, or simply use this time to reconnect with family, eat good food, and celebrate another trip around the sun, the holiday season can come with various mental and financial challenges for many Australians, including the thousands of industrial workers who continue to work long hours during the holidays.
Although challenging, it is important for all Australians to take a moment to relax, reflect, and spend quality time with loved ones. Even those who are required to work during the holidays. This article was written to help you juggle work demands and personal commitments, while highlighting some jaw-dropping stats related to Christmas spending habits in Australia.
The Importance of Family and Friends:
Australians love to give gifts. Gift-giving is traditionally used at Christmas time to show our love and appreciation towards family and friends. But buying presents can cost money, which is often a sore spot for lower-income earners.
According to Finder, the average Australian is expected to spend over $1400 on Christmas this year, with Victorians estimated to spend more than $1700 on presents, food, alcohol, and travel. This highlights the value we place on spending time with the people we cherish, even when it requires an increased commitment to budgeting and pre-emptive planning.
For those who work in a “blue-collar” sector, such as manufacturing, transport and logistics, warehousing, or construction, the day-to-day grind doesn’t stop over Christmas. With many of these employees required to work over the holidays to financially support themselves and their families. But with prior planning and careful budgeting, it is still possible to find family time, even during the busiest time of the year.
A 5 Step Guide to Balancing Work and Personal Commitments
Here are five tips you can use to balance work-life, family-life, and your personal-life during the holiday period:
1. Communicate with your employer.
If you are a casual, temporary, or contract worker, it is your responsibility to communicate with your employer well in advance about your availability. Most companies will be able to make the necessary accommodations to meet your needs, but they must have enough notice. Communicating these needs is especially important if you work in retail, logistics, or manufacturing as these industries see increased demand over the holidays.
2. Prioritize key events.
Unfortunately, it may not be possible to attend all family gatherings. Which is why it can be beneficial to list down the key events that you want to be present for. For instance, if your family gets together on Boxing Day, you should pre-emptively plan your work schedule around that. By choosing to take time off on Boxing Day, this also gives other workers the chance to plan their own celebrations around business demand and labour requirements.
3. Set clear budgets and spending limits before buying gifts.
Spending money can be stress-inducing, especially if you’re someone who needs to set aside regular funds for everyday expenses. According to The Salvation Army, 62% of Australians are feeling stressed-out, and the cost-of-living crisis has significantly changed our attitude towards celebrating Christmas. To meet financial demands, many low-income earners are working extra hours during the holidays, which means they have less free time to spend with their loved ones. To overcome this stress, 26% of Australians shop during the Black Friday sales weekend to save money and 1 in 5 will implement a spending limit to manage costs.
4. Plan family activities around your work schedule.
If you’re tight on time, it is better to focus on quality over quantity. Even if you can’t spend the entire holiday period at home, there is still time to have meaningful connections and check in with family. Whether it’s as simple as getting a morning coffee at your local café or watching Love Actually for the 15th Christmas in a row, there is usually time to celebrate the smaller things if you are willing to be flexible.
5. Take care of your own wellbeing.
Working long hours while also supporting yourself and your family can be incredibly taxing, especially around the holidays. Which is why it is important to engage in self-care activities to make sure that you have the energy to engage in the events that bring you joy. Ways you can look after yourself include: eating well, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, exercising, and spending time alone.
Need some resources to help manage your mental health? Give this a read: The Hidden Cost: The Impact Mental Illness has on the Australian Workforce
To Summarise:
The holiday season is a wonderful time of the year. It is a time for family, friends, and personal reflection, but for blue-collar workers in Australia, it’s also a time of increased work demands and challenges.
By carefully planning, budgeting, and taking care of themselves, contract and casual workers can spend valuable time with their loved ones over the holidays and continue to thrive both in the workplace and at home.
