Tips to tackle Blue Monday and enhance work well-being
The third Monday of every January has been widely dubbed as “Blue Monday”, an endearing term for what is supposed to represent the most depressing day of the year (allegedly). Whether it's the post-holiday blues, cold weather, and financial strain. However, we understand that feelings such as low mood and depression aren’t directly linked to a static day during the calendar year.
Looking after mental health in the workplace should be part of every business’s ethos, caring for the needs and wellbeing of their employees with as much importance as they would for physical needs. Whether that is advertising accessible resources or appointing a mental health first aider, everyone should be able to advocate for positive mental health in the workplace.
Using Blue Monday as a starting point, we’ve created a guide to managing mental health in the workplace. From one-off events designed to boost morale to long-term strategies with people at its core, read our guide to managing “Blue Monday” and mental health at work.
Implement Regular Events and Socials
Organising social events within the workplace is often met with mixed reactions. However, the impact of social connection is widely known to support mental health and solidify working bonds and relationships. Something as small as an open-invite, 15-minute slot held for a coffee and a chat for anyone to attend, or as large as a summer party can help people to form connections outside of their direct teams.
From bake-offs to “dress down” days to staff lunches and charity fundraisers, the opportunities are endless. Spaces created to share photos of team pets, emails that share out of work hobbies or ‘board game hour’ are all great ways to spend “Blue Monday” day and beyond.
Certified Mental Health First Aid Representatives
Implementing proper training in the workplace and certifying individuals with the training and knowledge to support people with their mental health could be the difference between spotting issues early and missing important warning signs. Our courses provide potentially lifesaving mental health knowledge from awareness right up to mental health first aid qualifications - creating a tiered system of support in your workplace.
Start the conversation about mental health first aiders in the workplace, ask for this to be implemented or volunteer yourself to attend a mental health first aid course. Visit our website to view our full range of mental health first aid courses, e-Learning training or free online modules and drive the initiative towards meaningful impact across teams and organisations.
Ultimately, good quality mental health first aid training should be a critical part of any employer’s strategy when aiming to foster and nurture a caring work culture and achieve goals that prioritise employee wellbeing.
Recognise Good Work
A great place to start when approaching your strategy, or workplace advocacy is by championing a culture that recognises, vocalises and appreciates good work. Employee recognition plays a crucial role in strengthening workplace communities and raising job satisfaction levels.
With the workplace existing as the bulk hours of any individual’s day, ensuring you are creating and upkeeping a space in which good work is recognised can help to improve the mood and productivity of colleagues and employees.
No matter which level you sit at within your organisation, you can be a driving force for recognition schemes, whether these are big or small. Even something as simple as an online appreciation chat room, consistent verbal thanks, or employee awards can make a huge impact to overall team morale.
Encourage Self Care Practices
Self-care looks different for every individual, the practices and processes that we prioritise to keep our wellbeing in check. But what do some examples of encouraging self-care look like in the workplace?
Connection – encourage those around you to connect on a human level, whether that’s through a cup of tea and a chat, or regular topic calls in which people are free to discuss any number of off-work topics to strengthen relationships.
Music – is there an opportunity to play music in your workplace? Would something like a shared playlist create buzz amongst individuals day-to-day, or for specific events? Perhaps musical elements could be tied into office events, or breakout areas.
Diet & Movement – your workplace could be encouraging healthy lifestyles and making small changes to facilitate a balance of healthy eating and regular movement. Does your workplace have a well-equipped kitchen for making balanced lunches, does it provide free fruit for employees or a benefits package that could include discounts for gym or fitness classes?
Management Check-Ins
Having a good working relationship with your management team or individuals you manage can make a huge impact on your mental health in the workplace. A manager could support their team with regular, pre-set check-ins to create a space and opportunity to feedback about both work and personal life, opening conversations that can go beyond automatic responses to “how are you?”.
Provide Online; Printable Resources
Something that you can do to support more visual learners is to think about what visual elements, posters or advice sheets are currently around your office space. Is there a printed resource about mental health, or signage to online resources that support health and wellbeing?
If you struggle to see any posters or visual elements related to mental health, this could be a great place to start when trying to help your organisation to support their individuals. You can take a look at our printable resources and guides or create your own signage to further advertise any online materials that your business owns or uses.
Advocate Staff Breaks; Elevate Lunch Periods
Several scientific studies have highlighted how taking regular breaks helps to reduce stress in the workplace, maintain performance, and increase energy levels, leading to better overall health and a more sustainable work routine. If you work for more than 6 hours a day, you’re entitled to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes - for example a tea or lunch break. You must be allowed to take it during the day rather than at the beginning or end.
In addition to ensuring that all staff take their breaks, workplaces can also encourage rest time within the workplace by optimising their employees’ lunchbreaks. Ideas to elevate personal, employee or colleague lunch periods include organising a team lunch, setting up a pleasant breakout space to eat in or placing reading materials in canteens.
Learn The Warning Signs of Poor Mental Health
Undertaking proper training designed specifically for mental health can help individuals to properly identify and deal with potential warning signs. The uniqueness of every person means that having properly certified mental health first aiders at your workplace can make a life-saving difference.
Our mental health first aid training delivers a practical approach to mental health first aid, based on real life scenarios. Whether you are a manager looking to support your team and mitigate risk factors or a colleague looking to practice empathetic listening, take a look at the training courses, e-learning courses and free online modules that you can use to manage mental health within your organisation.
