Dear Supervisors: As you know, the holidays are a challenging time for scheduling, and supervisory roles are no exception. In the past, we have tried to offer flexibility by letting supervisors decide among themselves how to allocate shifts during the five major winter holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. Needless to say, these are days that nobody especially cares to work, and we would surely all rather be with our families. Last year, however, the trouble with this policy became evident when only one supervisor was able to cover an extended emergency absence and had to work three consecutive days on Christmas week. Going forward, we will require that supervisors commit to two 8-hour shifts over the course of these five holidays. We will also request that each supervisor sign up to be on call for one of the remaining days so that no one is forced to work a double shift to cover an emergency absence.