The workplace always feels extra cozy with all the holiday decorations up — bonus points if your office has a crackling fireplace and cubbies for slippers — but could it be getting cozier year-round too?

A new Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey found that 72 percent of U.S. job seekers feel companies foster safe, trusting environments with honest conversations. Hiring managers feel even more positively, with over 80 percent expressing confidence in having built such an environment.

Younger workers feel cozier about communication than older workers, particularly when it comes to discussing personal issues that impact their work. (Someone, pour these kids a mug of cocoa!) When it comes to cozy vibes, it’s all about communication, from offering constructive feedback to modeling a culture of honesty.

Read How a Good Work Atmosphere Leads to More Success, and have yourself a cozy little Christmas.

SAD: Seasonal affective disorder may be affecting your office

Scrooged: Bill Murray’s take is almost as timeless as Dickens’

(Source: Shutterstock)

Dr. Steven Rogelberg is a chancellor’s professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a former president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the author of Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings.

The colder, darker months bring many holidays, but not everyone on your team may be feeling festive.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) affects nearly 1 in 20 Americans. Symptoms can include lethargy, sadness, weight gain, difficulty getting up, and a decrease in interest in activities. It’s in no way a sign of mental frailty or weakness; it’s just how some of us respond to this time of year.

Although SAD is a very personal experience, managers can help address and prevent it through their counsel, support, and proactive practices.

First, acknowledge SAD’s existence. Normalize talking about it to reduce any perceived stigmas, and encourage employees to come to you or seek support as needed.

Second, use your one-on-one meetings as an opportunity to check in and support your people. That will create a healthier culture within the department, which can help decrease SAD. It’s an opportunity for your team members to share challenges they may be having.

Third, you can encourage, support, fund, and make room for team members to do the following:

• Light therapy treatments
• Join a gym and practice good nutrition
• Socialize with colleagues and engage in team building
• Take breaks from screens throughout the day
• Spend some time outside each day when weather permits, even if it’s cloudy. (You can even conduct walking meetings.)
• Talk with a mental health professional

Overall, creating a psychologically healthy workplace benefits everyone and helps create an environment in which the team can be productive and engaged year-round.

Every business, small and large, needs a website. Not only is it an extension of your brand, but customers expect a place online to learn more about a company, get in touch with representatives, and buy products and services.

Not every business owner has the technical skills to develop a great website, however, or the budget to hire someone to do it for them. With Wix, you don’t need either. Simple drag-and-drop tools mean even the least tech-savvy entrepreneurs can create an unforgettable website and a top-notch user experience. There’s no coding required and a wide range of stunning templates to choose from.

Create something memorable with Wix today by getting started for free below.

(Source: Paramount Pictures)

A Christmas Carol has been adapted for stage and screen countless times. The Muppets’ version can never be topped, but the 1988 dark comedy Scrooged is up there.

When Bill Murray’s unfeeling TV exec Frank Cross (a modernized, Gordon Gekko–inspired take on ol’ Ebenezer) boasts, “I’m the youngest president in the history of television for a reason — I know the people,” it’s ironic. He absolutely does not know people. He arrogantly insults and fires employees and even sacrifices his relationship to climb the corporate ladder.

Three ghosts visit, as they do in A Christmas Carol, to teach Frank that love — whether it’s from his community or his soulmate — is more important than money, and that success in business means your whole team succeeds along with you. (And you end up with a better product, too, like how Frank boosts the quality of his network’s programming for the good of the audience.)

A classic theme? Yep. A subtle one? Nope. But, as the Ghost of Christmas Present says, “Sometimes you have to slap them in the face to get their attention!”

• 1868: Harvey Samuel Firestone was born. You might commute to work on his tires.
• 1971: Roy O. Disney, Walt’s brother and business partner, died.
• 1990: The world’s first website was uploaded at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), but it wasn’t announced until the following August.
• 1996: The first Scream film kicked off a nearly $1 billion horror franchise.
• 2012: Intercontinental Exchange bought the New York Stock Exchange for $8 billion. 

Written by Dan Ketchum and Ali Saleh. Comic by John McNamee.