Company sends out reminder to 'complete available tasks' during Christmas vacation: 'We appreciate that this is a busy time; any assistance that you can provide is valued'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Dec 28, 2025 11:00 AM EST

It's a delicate time of year to balance work and life. While most of us who work cushy email jobs likely have some time off to spend with our families, it isn't always that simple. Maybe you've had to do a little bit of extra work to cover the time off for the holiday, and it makes the preparation a little bit more stressful. Maybe you have one pesky coworker who just won't leave you alone, even though they're supposed to. Maybe you work for a company that doesn't value your time and just wants to squeeze every last drop out of you they can. It's up to you to draw boundaries around your relationship with working this time of year. It's also a time when you get to see your company's true colors. When push comes to shove, you understand where your company's priorities truly lie. 

And there is nothing worse than getting an annoying work email during the holidays. It happens to the best of us. You're just trying to do what's expected of you before enjoying a couple of days off, and then you're handed something that ruins your day. You want to demonstrate willingness, and show everyone that you're good at your job, but there's only so much you can do. It's up to employers to do their best to refrain from sending out annoying work emails in the middle of the holiday season. 

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  • A woman looks confused while looking at a laptop
    via Bermix Studio

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • That didn't stop this company from sending out a truly pesky email right in the middle of the holiday season. When they got it, they weren't sure if they should just ignore it or if they should take it as a sign to look for other work. Comments had a lot to say about this type of request, and it sparked a larger discussion about the way that we treat work during the holidays. Whether it be gig work or salaried, nobody wants to be bothered on their days off. Read on to see what happened and to see what everybody had to say about it.

  • Email my wife got from her work...

    Dear We hope this Holiday Season finds you well! We have reviewed your account and can confirm that there continues to be tasks available to you.
    via u/jwone
  • Can we ask that if you have time over this festive period, that you continue to login and complete available tasks? We appreciate that this is a busy time; any assistance that you can provide is valued.
    via u/jwone
  • Wish you a Happy Holiday and thank you for your participation on the program. Kind Regards, Al Community Support Team
    via u/jwone
  • No extra pay offered. No bonus offered.
    via u/jwone

  • Commenters wondered what exactly was going on here.

    shermanstorch Is this gig based work like fee per service or are they asking her to do work while on vacation?
    via u/shermanstorch
  • dexties Does it matter? They still shouldnt be trying to get people to work on the holidays.
    via u/dexties
  • A woman sits in front of a laptop computer looks interested
    via Bermix Studio

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • shermanstorch I didn't read it as working on the holiday itself as much as "hey if you have time and want to get paid, we have "tasks" available. If we want to have a larger conversation about how the "gig economy" is abusive to workers, I wholeheartedly agree and think that we need to rethink how we delineate between w2 employees and 1099 contractors. But the email itself doesn't seem any more problematic than if uber or DoorDash sent a reminder out to their drivers.
    via u/shermanstorch
  • CrookedBanister This is gig work, if she doesn't want to work she can safely ignore it. It can be useful for people who aren't celebrating the holiday or have lots of down time / need the money to know work is available.
    via u/CrookedBanister
  • Kasiyaza i can guess which company this is. i worked for them for 3 years before they laid me off without warning. they used to offer end-of- year incentives and bonuses, but 1-2 years ago they stopped doing that because
    via u/Kasiyaza
  • there weren't enough tasks during the holidays because the higher ups had time off, and they did nothing to help the employees during slow periods.
    via u/Kasiyaza
  • CherryTeri I was looking for a moment if I had time but I didn't have time.
    via u/CherryTeri
  • Esoteric-_-Otter Lmao, I got this email. No, TM Thank You ™
    via u/Esoteric-_-Otter
  • CaptPotter47 Why did she even check her email when it was outside of working hours?
    via u/CaptPotter47
  • kbyyru why is she opening work messages off the clock?
    via u/kbyyru
  • Blecki I'd hit them back with a nice "May you ask?"
    via u/Blecki
  • aMapleSyrupCaN7 "any assistance that you can provide is valued" I think I would give 5 minutes and say "you are welcome".
    via u/aMapleSyrupCaN7
  • sizzlinsunshine Ignore it? Not everybody cares about Christmas. You do. So... ignore it
    via u/sizzlinsunshine
  • SeriousLack8829 Copy it and anonymously send it to all of her bosses, other people's bosses and the ceo.
    via u/SeriousLack8829
  • XOAN My holiday autoresponse is along the lines of, you can. see i'm on holiday and yet you have chosen to e-mail me anyway, e-mails are not read and have been set to automatically delete.
    via u/XOAN
  • Please don't e-mail me again when I'm off. Speak to x (boss that's in) if you have a query. Then if it gets brought up that I didn't do x work/e-mail I say what part of my autoresponse was confusing.
    via u/XOAN
  • Salfia "We appreciate that this is a busy time" uhm i do to? What does this even mean xD
    via u/Salfia
  • Willowy I mean, it doesn't look that bad. They're just politely asking if people have some extra time to login and take some tasks, for which they'll get paid. It's not at all demanding or threatening.
    via u/Willowy

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Tags

christmas antiwork toxic work environment workplace bad bosses company gig work
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