Turning 'Blue Monday' into year-round opportunities

By the middle of January, many people are tired of hearing 'new year, new you'. After all, it's very hard to be a new you when you're worried about returning to a stressful workplace before you've even set foot in the office.  

In fact, an estimated 24 million working days, in 2022/23, were lost to poor mental health; costing the UK approximately £28bn. 

Now, if that wasn't cause enough to begin thinking about the opportunities a new year can bring, once our well-intentioned resolutions have been set (and possibly broken) and 2025 has begun in earnest, we reach what many people see as the most depressing day of the year; 'Blue Monday'. 

Blue Monday has long been called a marketing gimmick from the travel industry, it's also been called the day 'Brits decide to quit', reflecting the very real uptick in the number of UK workers handing in their notices and beginning their search for a new job. 

So, how can we turn 'Blue Monday' into a bright opportunity to boost productivity and performance, all year round? 

The key lies in viewing Blue Monday not as a dreaded milestone, but as a strategic opportunity to improve worker wellbeing through meaningful and lasting change.   

Transform the Narrative  

Instead of focusing on the January 'blues', a new year provides employers with a new opportunity; to create safe spaces for conversations about mental health, personal and professional challenges.  

It’s also the perfect time to provide supervisors and line managers with the skills and resources they need to start and manage tough conversations around mental health, throughout the whole of 2025; and beyond.  

Build-in buy-in 

Including workers at every step of the design and development of a workplace wellbeing strategy increases the likelihood that employees will benefit from wellbeing interventions. It’s a conscious process to build-in buy-in. Many well-meaning employers invest in wellbeing initiatives that fail to respond to the challenges experienced by their employees, leaving them entirely unsupported.  

By including worker voices, and understanding the challenges faced by individuals and groups, employers can provide workers with the support they need, when they need it, in a format that suits their circumstances (taking into account online, hybrid, in-person and blended interventions).  

Considering what success looks like 

Wellbeing successes don’t look the same for every organisation. Understanding how and where workplace wellbeing can support organisational and strategic priorities will be key to defining successful interventions. It’s important that employers spend time thinking about what they want to achieve and how proposed wellbeing interventions will support wider corporate objectives.  

Some organisations will measure success through reductions in absenteeism and presenteeism, others will look at recruitment and retention rates or their GlassDoor reviews.  

Others may see success through engagement with wellbeing services or reported decreases in workplace anxiety, stress, and burnout.  

For some organisations, success may be seen quickly, for others it may be a slower burn. Wellbeing is a classic example of the adage that we plant acorns today to grow the oak trees of tomorrow. Ensuring that wellbeing objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) will help to set corporate expectations and communicate likely returns on investment.   

While success may look different on a business-by-business basis, it’s key that wellbeing strategies help to improve working lives on an individual and collective basis.  

Conclusion: 

While Blue Monday might have started as a marketing concept, it presents a valuable opportunity to address workplace wellbeing head-on. By implementing comprehensive support systems and fostering a culture of openness and support, employers can turn this supposedly gloomy period into a catalyst for positive change all year round.  

If you’d like to talk to our Wellbeing Team about how you can transform wellbeing in your workplace, you can contact them by email here: [email protected] or by phone: 0208 600 1000