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There is a common story we tell ourselves this time of year: the “Holiday Slump.” We assume that across every industry, the gears stop turning and the world collectively hits “pause.”
But is that actually happening, or are we just used to saying it is?
Right now, we are seeing a strange contradiction. Our desks are busy, the requirements are still coming in, and the momentum feels high. Yet, if you look at the office next door or talk to a friend in a different sector, they might be experiencing a total standstill.
It raises the question: Who decided that December is slow, and why isn’t it slow for everyone?
The Business vs. The Human
Business doesn’t have a heartbeat, but the people running it do. This creates an “energy gap” in December. On paper, a company might have massive goals to hit before December 31st. The “Business” is demanding results, growth, and new hires.
But the “Humans” are often in a different place. After twelve months of pushing, many people are simply operating at a different pace. Even if the workload is there, the mental bandwidth might not be – which is a very human response after a full year of delivery and decision-making. We see this tension play out every day:
The Business says: “We need this finished by January 1st.”
The Human says: “I want to be thoughtful about what can realistically be delivered this week.”
Nuance in the “Slump”
The “December slowdown” doesn’t have to be a rule. For some, the end of the year is a quiet period of reflection. For others (like us right now), it’s a marathon. There’s no single “market reality.”
It depends on the industry, the specific goals of a team, and honestly just where people choose to focus their remaining energy. We’ve seen years where December felt like a ghost town, and this year where it felt like the busiest month of the quarter.
Food for Thought
If your business is “on” but your people are operating at a different pace, the real question becomes how you define progress. Maybe the “slump” isn’t about a lack of work at all. Maybe it’s simply the point where strong business goals meet the human reality of a long year – and where prioritization, not pressure, makes the difference.
At the end of the day, it is about meeting business goals while supporting people to contribute in ways that feel meaningful and effective.
What’s your December looking like? Is the “slowdown” a reality for you this year, or is your inbox telling a different story?