Working? How To Make The Best of Black Friday, Instantly
Are you working for Black Friday? I can relate. In past years, I’ve worked in retail, childcare, and car sales for that biggest shopping day of the year.
It’s easy to start feeling negative or resentful when you have to leave home at a weird time (late at night or super-early in the morning) to go to work. While seemingly everyone else is snuggled warm in their beds with dreams of leftover turkey.
When you get to work there might already be dozens or even hundreds of customers waiting in line to snag the deals. Or, worse, you and your team showed up and it feels like a ghost town! There can be a mentality of we “shouldn’t even be here today.”
It’s easy to get swept up in that way of thinking and before you know it, start to have a bad day. And I get it. I’ve felt that way before. Here’s how I learned to turn it around so that I could feel good even when working on a holiday.
My best advice: Do your best to make the most of the day. You’ve already signed up or been assigned to work, so you might as well give yourself the opportunity to make it a good experience.
Here are three easy ways that you can instantly turn it around:
Smile.
See the positive and act on it.
Remember that you have a choice.
Smile. Really? Yes, smile. Even if you don’t mean it fully at first. People are attracted to those who are smiling and appear helpful. The customers who are coming in to see you are the reason that everyone showed up in the first place. Give them a genuine smile and–I promise–you’ll attract more of the easy, happy ones. If you do run across someone who’s grumpy or dissatisfied, don’t take it personally. Help them the best you can and move on.
Your co-workers will appreciate someone who lifts them up and doesn’t participate when everyone starts to commiserate. It will be tempting and, yes, it stinks that you’re not at home feeling stuffed with stuffing, but all that will be there for you when you’re off the shift.
Can’t bring yourself to smile at other people yet? Look in the mirror and smile at yourself. When you take a deep breath and smile, you can instantly change your own demeanor and mindset from negative to at least neutral and at best, positive.
See the positive and act on it. Look for one positive thing about the current situation and then take action to make it better. If you showed up for work and it’s really slow because of the holiday, that’s great!
You can catch up on emails and the kind of work that requires focus that you just haven’t had the time to get through while it’s been busy. Is there something you’ve been putting off or wanting to get to? Now is the perfect time.
Not only can you be positive and productive in a ghost-town setting, you’ll have a chance for more meaningful interaction with your coworkers.
Get to know them a little better by taking the time to ask open-ended questions. How are their projects going? What are their plans for the holidays? What did they do before they started working here? What do they like the most about their job?
Of course, do this in a way that’s authentic and only if you’re truly interested in who they are and what they have to say. You might be surprised by what you have in common that you just didn’t have a chance to talk about before now.
On the flipside, if you’re super-busy at work, think of how fast the day will go by. Try to make it fun for yourself by beating a personal record for people helped, sales, to-dos marked off, or project wrapped up in one day.
You’ll amaze yourself at how capable you are. And with a positive outlook guiding your actions, you can make the most of the time you have and work will be done before you know it.
Remember that you have a choice. The situation of working during the holidays might stink but it doesn’t always have to. Ultimately, you made the choice to work for that company, take that position, and accept that shift. For whatever reason you’re there but remember that you still have a choice.
If having this day off is really important for you, what can you do next time to prevent having to work on Black Friday? A few ideas:
Request to take leave/time off/vacation days well in advance of the cut off.
Plan ahead to be sure any projects you have due are finished before you take the time off.
Communicate to the appropriate people on your team when you’ll be out of the office.
Update your resume and make sure it’s a good one!
Start looking for jobs and companies that offer paid time off, holiday pay, and other benefits that are important to you.
Knowing that you’re choosing to stay at a job that’s not ideal gives you freedom. Now that you’re more aware of what you want, you can un-choose that job when you’re ready. Once you make the choice to look for something that’s a better fit with your values, you can feel empowered and make the situation better for yourself by this time next year.
For family & friends
Even if you’re not working for Black Friday, you probably know someone who does. My partner has worked every Black Friday for 7 years in a row. At first it was NOT fun. We’ve since adapted so that the kids and I don’t feel bored or guilty while he’s working.
If you’re a family member or friend of someone who has to work during the holidays, be they a first responder, military member, office professional or a retail manager, just know that they don’t want to go either. But they’re choosing to go to work and help provide for themselves and their family.
If you’re loved one is working, try to make the most of the time that they’re gone and spend it with yourself. Do a project around the house that you’ve been meaning to catch up on. Go somewhere that you can enjoy without your partner.
Put your cell phone on do-not-disturb and take a walk in the park or out in nature. Use this time to refresh so you can come back for family time with a true sense of gratitude for all the people you care about.
For shoppers
Around Thanksgiving time, a little kindness and understanding goes a long way. Especially if you go out shopping.
Instead of pushing your way through, taking cuts or flat-out arguing with someone over the last item on the shelf. You can try this: Be kind. It’s not a race and it’s just stuff. It’s okay to make conversation or even be friendly with your fellow shoppers.
When interacting with the employees who are helping you out at the restaurant, the store, or the movie theater, or wherever you go to shop, try to remember that they’re doing their best.
They all have families, friends and hopes and dreams. You can try smiling too. It works every time.
