When it comes to environmental, health, and safety (EHS) during the rush of the holidays, keeping people safe while keeping business moving is a monumental challenge.
While leadership is focused on performance during this most profitable season, EHS teams are working to protect employees, customers, and operations during the busiest period of the year. Bridging this gap requires a strategy for resilience that blends proactive planning, clear communication, and daily habits that reinforce safety under pressure.
In our recent webinar, “Give the Gift of EHS Resilience: Preparing for the Holiday Rush,” Kelly Sampliner, Consultant at Antea Group USA, and Penny Pan, Senior EHS Consultant with Anew Global Consulting in China, shared global insights on retail, e-commerce, and warehouse EHS challenges during peak season. The session was moderated by Lauren Corbett-Noon, Senior Consultant at Antea Group USA.
Below are five essential insights from the webinar to help EHS leaders strengthen resilience, reduce incidents, and safeguard both people and performance during the holiday surge.
Missed the webinar?
Watch it on-demand here.
1. Strengthen Housekeeping and Slip/Trip/Fall Controls During Peak Activity
The holiday season brings increased order volume, stock turnover, and customer presence, all of which amplifies slip, trip, and fall risks. Basic housekeeping becomes mission critical.
Whether on the retail floor or in the warehouse, clutter and wet surfaces are leading causes of injuries at this time of year. Boxes in walkways, mopping during business hours, and holiday decorations blocking visibility or exits can turn normal traffic patterns into safety risks.
Key takeaway: Treat housekeeping like an operational discipline, not an afterthought. Cleared traffic lanes, reinforced storage routines, scheduled mid-shift compactor and baler runs, and targeted controls in high-traffic areas go a long way in preventing injuries and disruptions.
2. Protect Warehouse Teams Through Powered Industrial Truck (PIT) and Logistics Controls
Warehouse operations become the backbone of business success during the holidays. But they are also one of the highest-risk environments.
Increased forklift movement, dock congestion, rushed tasks, and quicker turnaround times can make collisions, material drops, and operator fatigue more likely. Visibility, space management, and communication patterns are often the deciding factors between smooth operations and near misses.
Key takeaway: Direct traffic flow, stagger PIT use, and reinforce equipment checks. When equipment and human movement share space under seasonal pressure, proactive controls, not reactive fixes, are what prevent incidents.
3. Strengthen Hazardous Material Handling and Training for Seasonal Staff
As operations expand and employee numbers grow, the likelihood of hazardous material incidents increases. Many holiday-season products, such as cleaners, aerosols, batteries, specialty goods, and customer returns, introduce chemical and physical risks that become more challenging when handled by newly hired seasonal teams.
Effective hazmat safety includes general awareness, function-specific training, spill response preparedness, and proper storage etiquette. Employees should understand not just what a chemical is, but how to store it, how to avoid incompatible pairings, and how to respond if something leaks, spills, or gets damaged.
Warehouse environments demand even more attention. Overfilled shelves, damaged pallets, improper stacking, and exceeding permitted quantities can trigger spills, crushed containers, or even chemical reactions. Inventory checks and clear stowage rules help prevent “domino effect” incidents.
Key takeaway: Hazmat safety depends on hands-on training and strong storage practices, especially for seasonal staff. Give employees the tools and confidence they need before the holiday surge begins, not after an incident occurs.
4. Support Psychosocial Well-Being to Prevent Burnout and Fatigue-Driven Errors
The holiday season brings intensity, and not just at work. Emotional and psychosocial intensity are at an annual high as well.
Signs of burnout often start small: quietness in someone who’s normally upbeat, irritability, slower task completion, or increased absences. These early signals matter because burnout directly affects alertness, judgment, and decision-making; when those capabilities are compromised, injuries are more likely to happen.
Key takeaway: Empathy is a safety strategy. When leaders promote micro-breaks, check in regularly with teams, and visibly value well-being, employees stay sharper, more engaged, and more resilient, benefiting both morale and safety outcomes.
5. Reinforce Safety with Seasonal Employees and Early Workplace Violence Prevention
Seasonal hiring surges dramatically, sometimes by 200% in retail settings and 600% in warehouses. This rapid onboarding can introduce safety gaps.
From hazmat handling to emergency procedures, seasonal employees must have targeted, role-specific training. They should not just be handed a manual. Plus, with adrenaline, fatigue, and customer stress peaking during the holidays, part of that training should be focused on early warning signs of workplace violence.
Key takeaway: Seasonal staff need clear expectations, upfront conversations on psychological safety, and practical tools to escalate concerns early. No sales target is worth employee safety. Reinforcing that message builds a culture of confidence and trust.
Looking Ahead
The holiday rush can test operational efficiency and organizational culture. When demand spikes, the smallest habits matter most: clear walkways, proactive PIT controls, functional hazmat storage, micro-breaks, and early conversations about fatigue.
To support your seasonal planning, we’ve created a Checklist for Holiday-Proofing Your EHS Operations:
Download the Checklist
This is a practical tool to evaluate readiness across retail floors, warehouses, staffing models, and employee well-being. Download the full checklist here.
By reinforcing safety fundamentals, supporting employee well-being, and preparing seasonal staff early, EHS leaders can protect both people and business performance when it matters most.
If you have questions about any of the strategies discussed or need support preparing your EHS program for the holiday rush, reach out to our team today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can we train seasonal workers quickly without sacrificing safety?
A: Start with micro-trainings focused on immediate risks and emergency procedures. Follow with function-specific modules for PIT, hazmat, storage, and forklift operations. Short, high-impact training works better than rushed comprehensive programs.
Q: What’s the fastest way to reduce slip/trip/fall incidents during peak season?
A: Assign ownership. Rotating teams responsible for walkthroughs, housekeeping checks, and back-of-house organization increases accountability and catches hazards before they reach customers or staff.
Q: How do I ensure seasonal staff can safely handle hazardous materials?
A: Provide general awareness training on day one, followed by task-specific instruction for employees who handle or store chemicals. Reinforce spill response expectations and proper stow etiquette with real examples and visual reminders.
Q: How do we identify burnout early?
A: Watch for behavior changes, slowing pace, irritability, or rising callouts/tardiness. Encourage open conversations, reduce stigma around speaking up, and build micro-breaks into long shifts.
Have any questions?
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