Company Holidays: Adapting Time Off Policies for International Teams
Company holidays are a big deal—they give everyone a chance to step away from work, recharge, and enjoy some personal time. But when your team is spread across different countries, handling holidays can get a bit complicated. Different countries have their own public holidays, cultural celebrations, and legal requirements, which means you need to be on top of things to keep everyone happy and compliant.
In this guide, we’ll look at how to adapt your company’s holiday policies to make sure you’re respecting different cultures, managing global schedules, and staying on the right side of local laws.
The Importance of Company Holidays
Company holidays are more than just days off—they’re a key part of keeping your team engaged and motivated. Having time away from work helps reduce stress, improves employee performance, and keeps employees satisfied. In fact, research shows that time off increases productivity and creativity, helping employees return to work with renewed energy.
Holidays also say a lot about your company’s culture and values. When you offer paid holidays that reflect the diverse backgrounds of your team, it shows that you care about what’s important to them. Whether it’s celebrating different cultural events or giving everyone some flexibility with their paid time off, making your holiday policy inclusive can make a huge difference in how employees feel about working for you. What’s more, a study by Yello also showed that 64% of job seekers think that a company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is an important factor in deciding whether to accept a job offer.
What are Federal Holidays?
A federal holiday is a specific day recognized by the US government when most federal employees are given a day off from work. These holidays are set by the federal law and usually imply the closure of non-essential government offices. Although federal employees get paid time off on these days, private employers are not legally forced to provide the same benefit. This is frequently met with skepticism by international workers, since, in plenty of countries, holidays are always made must-haves for company employees.
Adapting Company Holidays for International Teams
Different cultures, varying national and religious holidays, and diverse traditions all come into play when designing a holidays' policy. To keep your global team satisfied and productive, it's crucial to strike a balance that respects local customs while maintaining smooth business operations. Here’s how you can approach adapting company holidays for an international team:
Understanding Local Holiday Norms
Start by digging into the public holidays and cultural events in each country where you have team members. But it’s not just about making a list of the typical paid holidays. You need to understand how these recesses impact your business operations and employee availability. In this sense, it’s very important to consider at what moment of the year a specific holiday falls and how paid holidays affect hourly.
Creating a Flexible Holiday Policy
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to holidays, especially in a global team. Offering floating holidays or flexible time-off can be a game-changer. This means giving employees some leeway to choose which holidays they take off, based on what’s important to them. For example, if your company has a set of company-wide holidays but also offers floating days, employees can swap out holidays they don’t celebrate for ones they do. This helps with inclusivity and can also raise employee morale, a win-win. We'll discuss a couple of standard strategies that companies can rely on in a different section.
Making Sure Laws are Followed
Dealing with the legal framework of paid holiday policies can be a bit of a maze. Different regions have different rules, so you need to make sure your holiday policy aligns with local labor laws. For example, while there’s no federal law requiring businesses to close on public holidays in the US, some states have their own set of regulations. And it's not only about regulations, though. Companies should seek convenient days they can offer off. Some districts might have days when no-one can work, like Inauguration Day in the District of Columbia—and, though not a holiday, it could be a good time to offer time off to international workers as well.
Coordinating Holidays Across Global Teams
Here are some tips to effectively manage holidays across various time zones and cultures:
- Overlap and time zones: Plan ahead for overlapping holidays and different time zones. This might mean adjusting meeting times or deadlines to fit into various schedules.
- Scheduling tips: When scheduling meetings or setting project deadlines, keep in mind the different holidays your team might be observing. This helps avoid last-minute scrambles and keeps everyone in the loop.
- Tech tools: Use technology to your advantage. Tools like the TalentHR’s time off tracking feature offer shared calendars and HR software that can help track and manage holiday schedules, making it easier to coordinate across your global team.
How Can Companies Comply With Local Holidays and Stay Productive?
There's no straightforward approach to solving international holidays. There are some methods we've discussed, such as allowing employees to swap their holidays and using them at another moment. But companies that successfully run international teams opt for any of these two methods:
- Everyone follows the US holidays, and, as such, everyone, even in Europe, is taking the Fourth of July off. This is usually the case of big consulting firms.
- Or, every person takes their day off according to the country where they live. So, a French person would take the 14 of July, their national day, off, while her colleagues in the US would still continue with their scheduled workday.
Method number one is, of course, considerably easier to handle, but many startups still favor method two, which seems to be easier to comply with. Also, a federal government could request special pay for full-time employees working on their mandated holidays.
How Many Holidays Should a Company Offer?
The number of holidays you offer can influence everything from employee satisfaction to your company’s competitiveness. Here’s a quick guide to help you find your way around the holiday scene:
Industry Standards and Averages
In the US, most companies stick to the traditional set of federal holidays, like New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, and Christmas Day. Many businesses also close for Thanksgiving Day and the day after. But when it comes to what’s standard across different industries, there’s some variation. For example, finance and government contractors often align their holidays with stock market or government schedules. Some companies offer eleven holidays. Other companies stick for eight paid holidays, with the bulk of them spanning from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, because they're getting the day after Christmas and New Year's Day.
How Many Holidays Should You Offer?
To stay competitive and keep employees engaged, consider these tips:
- Benchmark against peers: Look at what similar companies are offering. Knowing industry standards helps you stay attractive to top talent.
- Balance tradition and flexibility: While sticking to the most common paid holidays, adding floating holidays can appeal to a larger talent pool.
- Think about inclusivity: Go beyond conventional holidays like Labor Day, Columbus Day or Inauguration Day holiday. Include diverse celebrations and a few extra days off. It doesn't only matter how many holidays you offer, but also how inclusive your policy is. Offering a mix of set and flexible holidays can make your company stand out in the hiring process and show that you value all employees' backgrounds.
Manage Holidays and Time Off for International Teams
Managing holidays for a global team offers a chance to genuinely understand and respect your employees' diverse backgrounds. Instead of sticking to the usual approach, consider how you can adapt your holiday policies to better fit your team's needs and preferences.
Take the time to review and adjust your policies to reflect the varied cultural and personal holidays of your employees. Making changes can improve employee satisfaction and make your company stand out as an inclusive and forward-thinking employer. This could go over well with international teams.
And remember that implementing HR software can significantly simplify the holiday policy management. TalentHR is a comprehensive all-in-one platform that comes with an especially helpful time off management tool. You can even launch a Careers page from it so you can start luring in international talent.
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To learn more about HR best practices for companies with international and remote teams, visit TalentHR.io
