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Employers Beware of Blue Monday 2008 |
| Written by Jeni | |
| Saturday, 05 January 2008 | |
 The festivities are over and the new year has well and truly begun. A time for re-evaluating your professional and personal life, for looking ahead and trying not to look back. But very soon, for thousands of Scots, the positivity goes out the window and ‘Blue Monday’ rears its ugly ahead. It’s not just a media phenomenon – it’s real and, give or take a couple of days either side, Monday 21st will officially be the most depressing day of the year. And for employers, the hangover is much, much worse. By plugging various factors into his complex calculator, Dr Arnall from the University of Cardiff has devised a formula - 1/8W+(D-d)3/8xTQMxNA. This equates to (W)eather, Christmas (D)ebt minus monthly salary (d), (T)ime since Christmas, failing our new year’s resolutions or to (Q)uit a bad habit, low (M)otivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action (NA). Employers will be hit hard by low motivation and morale - that’s if employees get out of bed and make it into work at all. The worst offenders will be in the public sector. According to the CIPD Absence Management survey 2007, the average number of days lost due to absence is 8.4 days per employee per year. However, in the public sector, the problem is considerably worse with a tally of 10.3 days per employee per year and an average cost of £732 per employee per year. By understanding the factors which contribute to Blue Monday and, more significantly, factors which can continue into the rest of the year, we can overcome them. Simple steps can be taken to get employees back on track in the coming days and send Blue Monday into the dim and distant past. 1 Encourage employees to work from home where possible or share a car ride with someone else. The RAC foundation has calculated that the average commuter spends 8 hours a week travelling to and from work so, by now, they would have lost a full 24 hours sitting behind the wheel.2 Don’t be blue, be green. Urge staff to recycle old Christmas cards lying round the office or turn off the lights when they are not needed. Encouraging staff to help the environment will promote their own self-worth and happiness.3 Get physical. Encourage your team to take a walk at lunch time or try some short exercises at their desk, shake their shoulders and wiggle their feet. It may sound trivial but it works.4 Be creative. Try some mind mapping with your team to get their brains working again and make new plans for your business in 2008. This also helps to lift morale by focusing on something new instead of dwelling on the old.5 Pamper your team. Arrange for a local complimentary therapist to come in and offer short treatments throughout the day. Many organisations are now offering a mobile service to visit places of work at no extra cost. With stress being one of the largest factors in absence, this is a perfect way to promote well-being at work and, although it might sound a luxury, it will ultimately save you money.6 Make time for a chat. Most people don’t want others to know how they are feeling, especially men. So show an interest in your teams’ emotions and tell them if they are doing a good job. Many counselling services offer an employers package to help identify and combat stress at work and many are available at short notice. 7 Have some fun at work. Try a team building or motivational exercise. Put simply, this Monday doesn’t have to be a depressing day and the year ahead doesn’t have to be blighted by the same symptoms. With a bit of fun and optimism, you can turn Blue Monday into Bright Monday. Try some of the above ideas in your work place or invite your team to submit their own bright ideas. As part of a programme of workshops throughout the year on a range of HR topics, Simple Corporate Resource Solutions is running a January Blues workshop on Friday 18th January at the Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, City Quay, Dundee. It is being facilitated by SCRS in conjunction with Fife company, InterActions counselling services. For more information, contact Jeni McCabe at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.scrsolutions.co.uk.
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