Blue Monday was a name given by Dr Cliff Arnell from Cardiff University, back in 2004, when asked, by a holiday company, for a scientific reason why we can feel down in January.
There is some discussion about whether Dr Arnell was correct or not, but so often January can be a hard month for some. With many paydays being brought forward in December, it can seem to be a long time until the next one comes along. With the Christmas period there is often some good cheer, and we can, maybe, spend a little more than we would in a normal month, this can add to the pressure of trying to stretch over the longer pay month. Some of us may have used a “flexible friend” (another term from the era of great music) as a method of spreading the cost of Christmas, will start to see the bills arrive. This is normally around the third Monday in January, giving some backing to Dr Arnell’s suggestion.
Right or wrong about “Blue Monday”, there will be people finding January a hard month. Research has shown that employees do bring their money worries to work, and it does affect performance. This is not only about money troubles, though this is one of the main areas of stress brought into the workplace, there are often many factors that contribute to someone’s mental wellbeing.
Whilst employers may feel that someone’s family life is an area that they should stay away from, and a lot of employees prefer to keep work separate from their home life, the two are very much intertwined, particularly now. Many do take their work worries and stress home with them, in one form or another, and will also likely be distracted by issues and worries in their homelife when they are at work. As, for many, work is at home now so the taking to and from has been removed, it is already there and just moving from one room to another will not remove it.
Is it the employer’s responsibility to get involved in someone’s personal life? Probably not, but it can have an impact on productivity, so dealing with the issues will help both employee and the business.
Having someone to turn to provides a lot of support and reassurance and although employees are unlikely to want to share their personal problems with their managers, providing employees with access to independent support and the tools they need can be done, often without major expense. In fact, where employers provide other financial benefits, this support may already be there.
Someone cleverer than me will undoubtedly be able to tie the lyrics from New Order’s Blue Monday to feeling down in January, they don’t really lend themselves well. My regret is I didn’t buy it at the time and can’t show my kids a piece of history, although they have heard it many times in the car and been told of the excitement of going to a record shop with my 99p pocket money. Each time met by the customary eye rolling and a lecture on how much easier it is to change track on an album now.
This could be a good time of year to begin a review of your employee benefits to ensure they remain fit for purpose and helpful for your business and your employees. There are many benefits which can help your employees get through this time ... from EAPs, wellbeing benefits, rewards and financial reviews... let us know if we can help.