Employees are prioritizing holiday cheer over work for 90 minutes a day, Workday data confirms, revealing the best gift is flexibility and handing the "naughty list" admin tasks to AI.
Maria Valero
Editorial Strategist, HR
Workday
If you look around the office this month and notice that not a creature is stirring—not even a computer mouse—that’s to be expected.
We like to think that the end of the year is an epic, all-hands-on-deck sprint, fueled by peppermint lattes and sheer willpower. But if we’re honest—and our data helps us be honest—the “end-of-year scramble” is a myth.
The reality is that the great holiday dial-down is an accepted, visible cultural shift, where employees consciously ease off the pedal. New Workday research showed that two-thirds (65%) of employees feel this decrease in output is accepted, and nearly three in five (59%) of managers admit they allow the slowdown and expect less of employees this time of year.
Employees are checking items off their personal lists (last-minute gift shopping or holiday outfit browsing, anyone?) and collectively bumping strategic tasks into the new year, often working up to more than an hour less than usual every day.
Some managers might be tempted to Grinch their team out of this natural seasonal rhythm, but it’s a powerful opportunity for a gift-wrapped organizational lesson on efficiency, prioritization, and talent engagement.
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You’ll be happy to know that the dial-down is about intentionality rather than laziness, and holiday cheer more than burnout. Faced with the glow of holiday lights, employees are actively choosing where to spend their finite energy.
54% of employees prioritize their personal well-being over job performance during the holiday season. The collective motivation is overwhelmingly positive—holiday excitement (48%) is cited as the biggest driver, showing a natural energy shift, rather than a deep-seated burnout or motivation problem (though 25% do cite burnout prevention).
The eye-opener is that nearly 8 in 10 employees (79%) spend up to 90 minutes on non-work activities per day in the lead-up to the holidays.
If people can successfully meet their deadlines working an average of 90 minutes less per day, that signals the work day has more inherent flexibility than we realize.
54% of employees actively prioritize their personal well-being over job performance during the holiday season.
One thing can spread holiday cheer to all who hear: The dial-down doesn't hurt your business, it just shows you exactly where your team can be smarter and more agile year-round.
When it comes to enjoying the slowdown, some career stages and locations are simply better at embracing the concept of "do not disturb."
For instance, as Santa’s elves begin increasing their output in the lead-up to the holidays, Australian employees are most likely to have significant or slight decreases in productivity (46%) followed by the UK (33%). The US sees the lowest decrease in productivity and output at 32%. Could higher volumes of elf recruiting in the AU and UK during this time be to blame? Possibly. But more likely, this is a cultural norm.
Outside of geographical differences, there’s also a significant generational chasm in setting boundaries. Employees in the 18-42 age cohort are 65% more willing to disconnect from work during the holidays compared to the 59+ cohort (38%).
For early-career employees (18-26 year-olds), their ability to embrace a dial-down in output volume (43%) is mainly self-preservation motivated. Clearly, younger generations feel more comfortable slowing down.
Nearly 8 in 10 employees (79%) spend up to 90 minutes on non-work activities per day in the lead-up to the holidays.
The holiday period forces us to triage our tasks, and the results are telling. When employees are asked what they would happily hand over to Santa's little helper (or, in this case, AI), they point to the stuff that drains their holiday cheer:
Notice the pattern? It’s the repetitive, administrative work that fills the middle of the day.
Now, contrast that with the task employees are most likely to avoid during the holidays: long-term strategic planning (29%).
It would be Who-ville of us all to let AI take over the repeatable, elf-friendly tasks to then redirect the reserved human capital for the high-value Santa-friendly work of strategic planning—the work they currently feel too burned out or busy to tackle.
This perspective is strongest among the most digital-savvy workers. A striking 54% of early- to mid-career employees (18-42) believe AI will enable them to take more time off, viewing AI immediately as a tool for well-being and engagement. This is a massive shift from the 59+ cohort (only 18% share this view).
54% of early- to mid-career employees (18-42) believe AI will enable them to take more time off.
The Great Holiday dial-down is not about Grinch-like behavior and grouchiness. Instead, it should be viewed as a time where our human energy is best spent on things that bring us joy.
By using technology like AI to remove the administrative work, respecting the need for firm work-life boundaries, and focusing your talented workforce on truly strategic challenges, you can create a refreshing bouncing off point for the new year.
Are your end-of-year expectations landing you on the naughty or nice list?
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In the past decade, HR has undergone a major evoluton from a supportive role to a strategic one. However, as this report finds, HR teams are more conservative on AI than finance and IT. That makes the potential competitive advantage even greater—learn more below.