Do  your employees have to work the day after Thanksgiving? There are several reasons they may not be at their best:

• If they are avid shoppers, they’re probably feeling a little distracted – just waiting for the time clock to reach 5 PM so they can hit the stores. They’re likely to spend more time than usual surfing the web to check on which items are still in stock at drastically slashed prices.
• Even those who aren’t planning to head to the mall are probably almost comatose from the amount of food they consumed the previous day. It’s not just the turkey and dressing that might be doing them in. A few are likely to show up with a hangover.
• For some people, it’s not a holiday without some SERIOUS family drama. There’s no telling what went down last night at the old homestead that’s putting an employee in a bad mood today.

How can you help your employees stay focused and productive on Black Friday?

• Announce a special gift card incentive for reaching a productivity target. Employees will be vying for the prize so they can rush out and spend it that evening.
• Provide ginger ale and antacids in the break room to soothe tender stomachs.
• Offer an extra-long lunch break so employees can take a much needed nap or get one shopping errand done. They’ll love you for this!
• Have a 2 PM meeting with a few games or something unusual to help wake people up and make them glad they came in to work.
• Do a casual Friday – that way people can wear their “fat pants” with the comfy elastic waistband.
• Pick one essential task for each employee to do so you at least get something out of them. Then, let the rest slide. After all, there’s always Cyber Monday..

Image courtesy of Flickr user tshein