Like many businesses, the Press Gazette’s office will be closed Thanksgiving Day. I’ll have a busy day of eating and visiting both mine and my sweetheart Amanda’s families. Since the news doesn’t stop, this means getting things done before what’s normally a deadline day. You may have to deal with a similar situation where you work. You may be fortunate enough to have a job where taking a holiday off doesn’t affect the day or days before. You may also be stuck working all Turkey Day. Similar to my writing on seasonal greetings, holiday work is a common battleground during these last few months of the year.
Older readers may recount to others how, in their day, everything would close. Christmas Day and Thanksgiving became a ghost town, as everyone, save for the most essential emergency service personnel, could spend the day with loved ones. Even younger people offer sympathies to retail and other such employees working full shifts on the most sacred days to families. Big businesses seem to put their margins ahead of their employees’ wellbeing.
Certainly some percentage of workers out there loathes working on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but many businesses incentivize working these days. I scrubbed and waxed floors at a nursing home for 6 years and some seasons was able to take holidays off while others I had to work. However, I received a bonus for being there. They also offered Turkey Day pies specifically to those on the clock.
Our society will likely never return to a time where all businesses close for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but some do shut their doors. Refusing to patronize the open ones will only have an effect when enough people take up the practice. But if that’s your choice, I support it. However, if you drop the glazed ham or the dog eats the sweet potato pie, rest assured some placed called Mart, Store, or Outlet will be open to remedy the situation.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Holiday work