Chinese New Year 2022: 3 Best HR Tips for an Unorthodox Chinese New Year

Update on 09 June 2022 in Business | Gabriel Chua

CNY Celebrations at the Workplace

Ushering in a welcomed period of prosperity and festivities, Chinese New Year (CNY) has always been an occasion that's looked forward to by many. Signalling the start of the Chinese calendar, each year is marked by different animals of the Chinese Zodiac, with each animal symbolising it's own unique outtake of the year to come.

Traditionally, Singapore businesses would have their organisation partake in CNY festivities. This is usually done via an invitation of a Lion

Dance troupe to visit the office to have a performance to welcome good fortunes, or having a Yu Sheng Toss with colleagues to signify unity and an abundance of success.

However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Singapore government has placed limitations on such celebrations effectively cancelling the prospect of having a heartfelt CNY celebration in 2021. Undoubtedly, with such a popular event being called off, employee morale would likely take a hit. Is there a way for Human Resources to still keep employee morale up and celebrate CNY while complying to safety measures?

Revamped Celebration Ideas

Best Dress Competition

New Year New Me! Such a saying is ever prevalent during the CNY period.

To usher in new beginnings for the festive period, individuals have always been encouraged to dress in new clothes from head to toe, to symbolise a shedding away of bad fortunes and a welcoming of prosperous times ahead. Thus, to liven up the mood, why not encourage a best dress competition for employees?

Even employees who are working from home can also participate! Through virtual conferences, both employees at the office and those at home can put on their best outfits to celebrate the new year. Winners of the contest could be rewarded with vouchers in traditional or e-hongbaos.

Although your employees may be separated physically, they are united in their colourful garments and festive attitudes. After all, the spirit of reunion and togetherness is what CNY is all about.

Chinese New Year Plant Decorations

With Phase 3 of Singapore’s gradual re-opening, more employees have been returning to the workplace. Having become habituated to working from home, employees may be stressed and unused to returning to work at the office

Small actions can go a long way in welcoming employees back to office. For example, by putting up office plants with little red ribbons and hongbaos hanging from them, or other CNY decorations. Having additional greenery in the office can have surprising positive effects on an individuals mood. In a study performed by Exeter University, 85% of employees felt more productive with plants in the workplace. Furthermore, indoor plants have been shown to improve air quality, reduce fatigue and act as mood uplifter to reduce stress. Consequently, this would help employees to feel less burnt out and improve overall workplace performance.

In particular, to suit the CNY theme, companies may wish to add pussy willows to their decoration line up with pussy willows signifying a change in seasons that symbolises fortuitous times ahead. Many employees would be happy to leave behind the tumultuous seasons that 2020 had brought to us, and look forward to a prosperous time ahead.

Guess the Employee

The CNY has always been a period of fond memories, with family and friends reminiscing about times gone by. To bring this trend to the office, why not make a fun-filled session out of it with a game of 'Guess the Employee'.

To begin, employees submit a baby photo of themselves. The photos are then mixed up before being drawn at random, then everyone could take turns to guess which of their colleagues is in that photo, and what age he or she was. This allows employees to get to know each other on a more personal level, and establish a greater sense of cohesion which is yet another feature of traditional CNY get-togethers. In addition, they are encouraged to work as a team to solve a 'problem' together. Research has shown that when team games are able change mindsets from a 'me'

mentality to a 'we' mentality, it has long lasting impacts outside of that activity and can enable employees to collaborate better on solve real-world work issues.

A New Take on Tradition

The Year of The Ox in 2021 will not be any ordinary CNY celebration. The many restrictions that have been set in place will more likely put a damper on things, ruining the mood of the holiday season. Nevertheless, following the tips provided by QuickHR will ensure that the festive spirit is maintained and will help you celebrate this CNY in a cheerful manner as can be. In addition, QuickHR has a special offer for you.

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