In a recent survey, 88% of respondents said the holidays are the worst time of the year for stress, claiming it’s often challenging and lonely. With financial burdens from gift buying — to emotional burdens for those who have lost a loved one or are navigating complicated family dynamics — I see how it could be stressful for many.
In the workplace, the push to achieve big goals by the end of the year can pile on some mega pressure, as well. I definitely understand that one. Although that’s not a challenge within my current job, I have been there and done that.
I would bet all the respondents to the survey that said the holidays were the most stressful were not in the financial services industry.
I worked several years in banking and the most stressful time of the year was vacation.
I don’t know if all banks are similar, but the one I spent many years at made it so you never wanted to take time off. If you were on vacation, you were not allowed to go inside the branch where you worked. Before you left for vacation, you’d better make sure all your files were in order because while you were gone, you got audited. With a fine-toothed comb, y’all.
I only remember a couple people that were terminated when vacation wasn’t involved — but I know of many that got the ax after returning from their happy family vacation. The whole time you were supposed to be relaxing, you were instead worrying that you’d made some mistake… somewhere… that would be uncovered. It was miserable.
My wish for you is that your holiday season is filled with gratitude, connectivity, and joy!
Now you know: All the gold ever mined on Earth came from meteorites – not from the Earth’s core.