The Great Christmas Countdown

Why everyone’s tired – and how better culture stops burnout

Let’s be honest: by the time December rolls around, most teams are running on a curious mix of mince pies, sheer determination and “I swear we did this exact project in February?” The inbox gets louder, the daylight gets shorter, and suddenly even the office plant looks like it needs a nap.

End-of-year fatigue is real. And it’s not because people aren’t resilient – it’s because work (and life) piles up like tinsel in a kids’ craft session. So Christmas becomes that one magical pause button. A chance to step away, reset and remember who we actually are outside of deadlines.

But here’s the big question: should people really have to crawl to the finish line every December? Or is there a better way to build a culture that doesn’t rely on a festive collapse to feel human again?

Why everyone feels frazzled by mid-December

The run-up to Christmas is a perfect storm. There’s the pressure to “wrap things up before year-end”, performance reviews, social calendars overflowing with things you agreed to in June and, of course, the epic task of pretending you aren’t mentally finished for the year.

Fatigue isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign that the pace has been unsustainable. When wellbeing falls to the bottom of the priority list, burnout begins its slow, stealthy creep.

The Christmas break matters – but culture matters more

Time off is brilliant. Essential. Delicious, even.

But a culture that needs Christmas to rescue people? That’s a culture that needs a rethink.

Healthy workplaces build rhythm into the year. They acknowledge energy cycles. They don’t expect people to perform like a brand-new laptop 12 months in a row. They make wellbeing an everyday conversation, not just something said in a December all-hands between pigs in blankets.

So how do you build a culture that doesn’t burn people out?

Here’s what good looks like:

1. Normalise rest – long before Christmas.

Time off shouldn’t feel like a guilty pleasure. Make it routine. Model it. Celebrate it. If your team only feels able to breathe in December, something’s off.

2. Swap “push harder” for “push smarter”.

People don’t need motivation — they need permission to work in ways that match their strengths and energy. Less firefighting. More clarity. More focus. Less “urgent”.

3. Check in like you actually mean it.

Real conversations beat performance dashboards every time. Be personable, warm and human (yes – even in meetings). Your people aren’t robots, and neither are you.

4. Celebrate the small wins.

End-of-year pressure disappears when progress is recognised all year round. Don’t save praise for Christmas – no one should have to wait 11 months for a ‘well done’.

5. Build a wellbeing-first mindset, not a wellbeing month.

Wellbeing initiatives aren’t decorations you hang up in January and take down in February. They should be part of the culture’s DNA.

A Christmas wish for 2025? A culture people don’t need a holiday from

Everyone deserves their break – the lie-ins, the movies, the days where you forget what day it is and don’t care. But imagine heading into Christmas feeling fulfilled, not fried. Excited, not exhausted.

That’s the magic of a culture built on trust, clarity, belonging and genuine care. A culture where people can do their best work and still have enough energy to enjoy the festive season instead of sleeping through it.

And if 2026 could be the year organisations finally embrace that?

Well, we’ll raise a glass of something warm and cinnamon-y to that.ƒ