Working on Christmas? Take comfort.

Ruined Christmas Last week, your boss walked into the office and announced that the company was going to be very busy during the Christmas period; therefore it wasn’t going to be possible for you to take that long desired Christmas break. In those shock-filled seconds that followed your boss’ announcement, you experienced loud silence. You envisioned, as if in slow motion, all your grandiose Christmas plans come tumbling down and there was nothing you could do. For some reason, you have always dreamt your boss telling you this and in the dream you became all psychotic on him and actually told him that he was out of his crazy mind. However, that was a dream and this is real.After the boss walks away, you finally let out a scream in painful surrender ‘Christmas has actually been ruined!’ and then you slam your head on your desk.----- I am here to offer you some encouragement if you experienced a scenario close to the one above and show you that Christmas can actually be salvaged. Essential service First of all, you should be proud to know that your services are actually essential! So, if you are not already receiving a bonus for this, you can confidently knock at your boss’s door and present your case forward. Secondly, you are not alone. There are many others like you who work in industries that require continuous manning such as security, hospitals, prisons, airports, press, telecoms, police, ambulance, water, electricity and many others. So take heart, the rest of the world enjoys Christmas because of you. Make it funSo, there are a couple things you can do to make it feel festive even as you work. You can mobilize your co-workers to have decorations put up at the office and come wearing Santa Claus hats just to add some spice. Also, you could organize to play some festive music from the computers but just ensure it doesn’t get too exciting and it breaks into a dance party. You could also take advantage of the various holiday calling rates offered by the telecoms and call your close friend who’s far off and have some catching up time. In fact, talk as if you are there next to them and in no everyday hurry. You will surprise them. Also have everyone bring special snacks at the office to share. It could be anything from special cookies, exotic nuts, or even cake for all. If they are home-made, they will magically add to the warmth that we all long for during this season. Finally, plan to hang out together after work. There is no need to go to an empty home while the rest are partying. Just pick a joint and just wind down the evening with great food and music. J_kiregu@yahoo.com