What Working Over Christmas Can Offer You

If you’re working over Christmas, you’re likely familiar with the feeling.

Colleagues signing off with cheerful goodbyes. Calendars emptying. The world appearing to slow down, while you’re still logging on and showing up.

Not with resentment. Not with martyrdom. But with a quiet sense of responsibility, continuity and momentum.

When I was younger, working as an employee, I almost always chose to work over Christmas. Not because I had to, but because at that stage of life, it genuinely worked for me. I didn’t have children. I wasn’t tied to school holidays. And I preferred taking time off when travel was cheaper, places were quieter and the world felt less crowded.

If you’re working over Christmas this year, you may recognise some of this. You may not be avoiding rest. You may simply be choosing a rhythm that fits your life right now.

Here’s what I learned, and what I came to appreciate.

The pace softens, and that matters

Those weeks around Christmas and the new year had a very different energy. Fewer meetings. Fewer interruptions. Less urgency masquerading as importance. If you’re working now, you may already be noticing this. The quiet can feel unfamiliar at first, but it creates space for clarity. For finishing what’s been lingering. For thinking rather than reacting. For setting yourself up so January doesn’t arrive with a running start and a clenched jaw.

Flexibility changes how work feels

One of the things I enjoyed most was the flexibility. Earlier starts. Earlier finishes. Longer breaks in the middle of the day. A more human rhythm. If your role allows even small adjustments, take them. This isn’t the time to operate as if it’s business as usual. Let the season shape how you work, not just when you work.

Working doesn’t mean you’re missing life

There’s often an unspoken belief that working over Christmas means missing out. That wasn’t my experience, and it doesn’t have to be yours. Rest doesn’t only come in long blocks of leave. Sometimes it looks like a slow morning, a walk or swim after work, a long lunch, or simply a quieter nervous system at the end of the day. If you’re working now, look for these moments. They count.

There’s quiet connection in being the ones who stay

Working with a smaller group during the holidays often creates a different kind of camaraderie. Less performance. More presence. More real conversation. If you’re part of a skeleton crew right now, notice that. These quieter weeks often build relationships that last well beyond summer (or winter for our northern friends).

This is a season, not a statement

Choosing to work over Christmas says nothing definitive about your values, your boundaries or your capacity for rest. It simply reflects the season you’re in. Seasons change. Priorities shift. What suits you now may not suit you forever. And that’s allowed.

If you’re working this Christmas…

Let it be intentional, not punishing.

Let it be spacious, not relentless.

Let it support what comes next.

Janelle Ryan is a globally recognised Personal, Career and Leadership Coach, renowned for guiding ambitious professionals and seasoned leaders alike to achieve extraordinary results in their careers, businesses and lives. She is the founder of Sky High Coaching, an international speaker, retreat leader, and published author who blends inspiration with practical strategies to create profound transformation.