Every December, workplaces shift into a familiar rhythm. Client lunches get longer. Office kitchens overflow with chocolates and gifted wine. Snacks appear everywhere you look. Team dinners, after-work drinks and “go on, just one more” moments fill the calendar.
Most leaders assume all of this is normal, seasonal behaviour. And often – it is. But not always.
Because while festive indulgence is cultural, expected and bonding… for some employees, the same behaviours become something very different:
- A socially acceptable mask for emotional overload
- A coping mechanism for pressure
- A way to numb discomfort during a demanding time of year
In December, festive indulgence and emotional overload often blur together and unless leaders know what to look for, they can easily miss the early warning signs that reveal how a team is really coping beneath the surface.
Why December Creates So Much Excess
December creates the perfect conditions for both celebration and overload.
- Cultural Permission
Celebrating, eating, drinking and relaxing boundaries is socially sanctioned – it’s “normal Christmas behaviour.”
- Disrupted Routines
Sleep changes, work rhythms shift and structure dissolves.
- Emotional Load
Year-end pressure, deadlines, financial strain, family dynamics and fatigue all intensify.
All of this increases seasonal workplace stress, even for high-performing teams.
Most people absorb the shift and bounce back in January. But for others, excess becomes more than seasonal – it becomes a coping mechanism.
Festive Indulgence vs Emotional Overload: What Leaders Can See
The key difference is rarely the behaviour itself. It’s the intention behind the behaviour. This is the leadership lens that helps you tell the difference:
Healthy Festive Indulgence
(Normal, social, harmless)
You’ll see behaviours like:
- enjoying treats with others
- drinking socially rather than compulsively
- feeling tired but emotionally steady
- a little indulgence that resets naturally
- genuine enjoyment and connection
- predictable patterns that fade after the holidays
This is celebration. It’s part of the season. There is nothing to fix.
Emotional Overload
(The quiet red flag)
This looks similar, but feels different:
- snacking or drinking mindlessly, often alone
- joking about “needing” alcohol or sugar to cope
- irritability or emotional flatness after events
- withdrawing from celebrations entirely
- overworking and overindulging (the overload combo)
- feeling guilty, then repeating the behaviour
- patterns escalating rather than resetting
- a noticeable shift in energy or presence
This isn’t Christmas spirit. This is the nervous system seeking relief. And December makes it incredibly easy for these coping patterns to hide in plain sight.
A Personal Note
I know how easily these patterns can go unnoticed because years ago, I was one of the employees who blended in. I loved Christmas, not because I felt festive, but because my year-round coping behaviours suddenly looked normal. Food, drink, over-participating – it all helped me cover how overwhelmed I felt on the inside. And no one ever picked up on it.
Not because they didn’t care, but because December hides emotional overload extraordinarily well. This is why leaders need a different lens.
Why It’s Easy for Leaders to Miss These Signs
Because December is noisy. When everyone is indulging, it becomes harder to see who is:
- stressed
- overstimulated
- emotionally tired
- self-soothing through food or drink
- withdrawing quietly
- overwhelmed but smiling through it
When excess looks normal everywhere, emotional overload blends in. Until January – when burnout, conflict or disengagement suddenly appear ‘out of nowhere.’ But they never come out of nowhere. Leaders who recognise the early signs prevent the fallout before it lands.
How Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Read December Behaviour
Emotionally intelligent leadership isn’t about policing indulgence. It’s about understanding the emotional need beneath it. This is what emotionally aware leaders pay attention to:
- Energy, not activity
Two people attend the same event. One returns light and chatty. The other returns flat, drained or numb. Energy tells the truth.
- Patterns, not moments
One late night? Normal. Ten in a row? Data.
A treat? Normal. Constant grazing? Data.
Leaders look at trajectory, not incidents.
- Curiosity, not judgement
Instead of: “He’s drinking a lot.”
They ask: “What might this be helping him cope with?”
This shift alone changes everything.
- Psychological safety, not ‘festive cheer only’
If December is treated as ‘fun only,’ no one will admit:
“I’m overwhelmed.”
“I’m tired.”
“I’m struggling.”
Team culture matters more than ever this month.
- Quiet, early check-ins
It doesn’t require analysis – just empathy: “Hey, you seem a little stretched this week. How are you doing?”
Many people have never been asked that question in December.
How Leaders Support Teams Through the Season of Excess
Small interventions make a disproportionate difference:
- reducing unnecessary deadlines
- simplifying priorities
- protecting boundaries
- normalising emotional load
- building pockets of calm into noisy weeks
These aren’t big initiatives – just small acts of emotional intelligence that prevent January burnout.
The Part Most Leaders Forget
Overindulgence isn’t the problem. It’s the symptom. What sits underneath it – the stress, fatigue, pressure, dysregulation, uncertainty or self-doubt – is where the real leverage is. Understanding that deeper layer is the difference between surface-level wellbeing… and genuine behavioural change. And that’s where the deeper leadership work begins.
Where the Framework Helps
The goal isn’t to stop people indulging. It’s to give them the emotional tools so they don’t need indulgence as their coping strategy. The framework helps teams understand:
- why their patterns show up
- how to recognise overload early
- how to regulate themselves when life gets loud
- how to set boundaries before they break
- how to replace numbing with healthier strategies
- how to build confidence and resilience from the inside out
When people have these skills, December stops being a pressure valve and becomes what it should be: a celebration. Teams enter January calmer, clearer and far more effective.
Final Thought
Festive excess is normal. Emotional overload is not. And the difference between the two is subtle – easy to miss, powerful to recognise.
Leaders who can read those signs don’t just protect their teams. They shape the culture their teams return to in January. Because sometimes what looks like a mince pie, a drink or a celebration… is really the first clue that something deeper needs attention.
If you’re planning 2025 development and want to explore how this deeper emotional intelligence work transforms confidence, wellbeing and performance, message me for the corporate brochure – or let’s talk about what might really be sitting underneath the patterns you’re seeing.