Rethinking Blue Monday

Did you hear it was Blue Monday this time last week? The concept seemed to be everywhere. #BlueMonday was trending on Twitter all day; media outlets competed to publish the most sensationalist articles on “surviving” the most depressing day of the year. But do you actually feel any different today than you did on the day itself – or the Monday before?

The idea goes that Blue Monday represents a “perfect storm” of misery. With the fun of Christmas disappearing into our collective rear-view mirrors and our New Year’s Resolutions already failed and forgotten, we look ahead and only see weeks of bad weather until the reprieve of springtime. Even the most committed traveller would admit it’s too early to get excited about this year’s summer holiday. So what is there to be happy about?

Part of Blue Monday’s appeal is that it feels so intuitively true. The idea of the January blues has been around for a long time. Like the Boomtown Rats, most of us “don’t like Mondays”. The phrase has certainly resonated with people: Google shows a steady increase in the numbers searching for it each January, with the last three years especially standing out. The Netherlands – which was named the 5th happiest country in the world in a UN study last year – came out on top for interest in Blue Monday, with the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece and Belgium close behind.

So why is Blue Monday increasingly controversial?

Blue Monday: Does it Make Sense?

One thing’s for certain: the calculations that led to Blue Monday are nonsensical (sorry, Blue Monday supporters).

The most commonly used formula looks scientific at first glance. It uses letters to represent concepts: for instance, W = weather, T = time since Christmas and d = debt. But there’s nothing mathematical about this. There are no definitions or units specified and “low motivational levels” is a subjective concept that would be difficult to accurately measure. Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that Blue Monday originally came from a 2005 marketing campaign for a travel company encouraging people to escape the winter blues by booking a holiday. It was only afterwards that it took on a life of its own.

Dodgy origins aside, defenders of the Blue Monday bandwagon claim it can play an important role. Despite all the recent progress, mental health remains a taboo subject in many workplaces. Anything that opens up the conversation about mental health support should be applauded, surely?

Obscuring the Real Issues

Unfortunately, not all “mental health conversations” are created equal.

While it is of course important that everyone feels empowered to discuss their mental health, at work and at home, they also need to feel that their concerns are taken seriously rather than being dismissed as “just because of that time of year”.

For people suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression – approximately 1 in 4 of us every year – Blue Monday could be minimising their experiences. Depression isn’t just one day of feeling low. It’s a serious health condition that spans months or years for most sufferers. Though it is treatable, it can have severe effects on a person’s life. Depressive episodes need to last at least two weeks to be formally diagnosed and, in many cases, can go on for years. People who experience the related Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) sometimes have symptoms spanning around 40% of the year.

One danger is that Blue Monday can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people are told that one day is inherently “depressing”, they might feel that way even if everything is going fine. Even worse, people whose mental health is fragile might expect a worsening of their symptoms for the day – a suggestion that might be enough in itself to trigger an episode or make it worse.

Dr. Antonis Kousoulis, director of the Mental Health Foundation, agrees: “this [Blue Monday] is not the right way to raise awareness. By saying this single day is the most depressing day of the year, without any evidence, we are trivialising how serious depression can be.”

24/7/365

With mental health issues so serious and so widespread, employers need to provide substantial support year-round. The Labour Force Survey revealed that 12.8 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression and anxiety from 2018-19. Over 600,000 workers experienced these conditions, with workload cited as the main aggravating factor. Far from being confined to one day in January, time off sick for stress usually spikes in November or December but remains relatively steady throughout the year. As a country, we still have a long way to go to tackle this crisis.

World Mental Health Day (10th October) and National Stress Awareness Day (the first Wednesday in November) play an important role in bringing these issues to the front of people’s minds. If we are to give Blue Monday a useful function, it needs to follow a similar path: to begin larger conversations around mental health. The Samaritans achieved this brilliantly with their campaign “Brew Monday”, encouraging friends, family members and colleagues to share a cup of tea and a conversation while raising money for a great cause. This can take place on any Monday in January or February.

We need to bin Blue Monday in its current form and focus on real, lasting action on mental health. This includes high-quality training, greater mental health awareness and empowering people to discuss their mental health, whatever the time of year.

Workplace Mental Health: Where to Start?

Workplace mental health is arguably the most discussed topic in health and safety right now – and with good reason.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have released their statistics on workplace safety for 2019. They contain some shocking figures on work-related stress, depression and anxiety. 602,000 of us suffered from them (new or long-standing cases) in 2018/19 and 54% of working days lost due to ill-health are attributed to them.

Workers’ mental health is an issue none of us can afford to ignore.

The Basics of Workplace Mental Health

First things first: what do we mean when we say “workplace mental health”?

“Mental health” and “mental illness” are often used as interchangeable terms but this isn’t technically correct. We all have mental health – and like our physical health, it will fluctuate throughout our lives. Mental illnesses are common but if people are properly supported, they can be successfully managed.

We spend a lot of our waking hours at work, so it stands to reason that work can often have a profound effect on our mental health. When we feel fulfilled, appreciated and in control of our work, that optimism can spill over into the rest of our lives. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true: if we’re under unreasonable work stress, suffer from bullying or otherwise feel undervalued, that can affect us at home too. It can cause us to withdraw socially, take it out on our loved ones or misuse alcohol.

Sadly, 300,000 people suffering from mental illnesses lose their jobs each year. As well as the adverse career and financial impacts this may have on them, their employers lose out: they take their skills, experience and expertise elsewhere. With better understanding and management of mental health and wellness in the workplace, many of these job losses could be avoided.

Where to Start

For employers, the physical safety side of the “health and safety” equation has traditionally received most – or all – of their attention. Addressing employee mental health can seem a confusing and difficult task. Many employers fear “overstepping”, as everyone’s mental health is affected by their personal lives as well as their jobs.

Sometimes reaching out to someone and giving them a safe space to discuss their mental health can make a huge difference. When people feel their workplace is supportive, they are more likely to stay in the role. They use less energy trying to hide their condition out of fear for their jobs. Senior people sharing their own stories in this area can often help to set the tone, though, of course, it should be entirely voluntary for every individual.

Creating a Mentally Healthy Culture

We’ve all heard of workplace wellbeing initiatives. Though well-meaning, many of these focus on surface-level interventions like free fruit or free yoga classes. These can be exceptionally beneficial for some and are to be welcomed – but they’re not the whole story.

Creating a workplace that complements employees’ mental health rather than damaging it requires a genuine effort to meet people’s needs. Flexible working can help people who need work-life balance; for some, being able to drop off their children at school in the morning can have a huge effect on their mood for the rest of the day. Financial problems are a major cause of workplace stress and stress-related illness in general, so employers that ensure their staff are paid fairly are making an investment in their wellbeing.

One of the major components to a cultural shift is communication. People need to feel safe bringing up mental health concerns or related issues, such as feeling overloaded with work. Ideally, they should speak to their line managers in the first instance, but it’s best to provide a neutral alternative for people who don’t feel comfortable doing this.

Recognising the Signs

When it comes to personal stress, identifying stress in a team or managing an employee with stress, there’s no substitute for quality training.

It’s beneficial for people to learn to recognise the signs of stress, both in themselves and others. People respond to undue stress in different ways, but the following symptoms could be clear signs:

  • Change in mood – for example, seeming low, anxious or irritable
  • Difficulties concentrating
  • Increased negativity in attitude
  • Feelings of emotional “distance” from work and other activities
  • Getting physically ill more often

There is no quick fix to the epidemic of workplace ill-health in all workplaces and industries. Problems are so widespread that it’s statistically likely that at least one colleague of everyone reading this blog will be struggling with a diagnosable mental health issue.

Despite the scale of the problem, there are positives. The discussion around mental health is now more open than ever before and more and more people are sharing their stories to help others.

Stress: Recognising a Workplace Epidemic

The 4th-8th November 2019 is International Stress Awareness Week, with Wednesday 6th November recognised as National Stress Awareness Day by mental health charity Mind.

These events are important for raising awareness of an issue that affects around 600,000 workers a year in the UK and is one of the leading causes of sickness absence. But for employers to really tackle the root of workplace stress, it needs to be a concerted effort. The first step? Recognising stress in the workplace when it occurs.

Know the Signs of Stress in the Workplace

Symptoms of workplace stress can appear in teams and in individuals. Training managers to recognise them is important for noticing them before they become a major problem.

Early signs that someone might be suffering from problematic stress might include:

• Lots of time off ill.

• Changes in mood, including social withdrawal.

• Fatigue and loss of enthusiasm.

If stress problems run throughout the team, it can negatively affect the group dynamics. Some signs might be:

• More conflict and frayed tempers.

• Loss of enthusiasm for taking on new tasks and responsibilities – especially if people feel they’re already overwhelmed.

• More sickness absence and high turnover.

Each case of stress in the workplace will be different and require individual work to tackle.

Know the Causes of Workplace Stress

There has been a tendency to categorise stress as a personal issue, with the onus for improving the situation falling on the individual. We’re encouraged to try yoga and meditation and work out our own boundaries for disconnecting from work. While these are all excellent ideas and can yield real benefits, in today’s “always on”, long hours culture, it pays to acknowledge that stress is often a direct result of workplace norms – many of which can be harmful to people’s mental health.

People can be more vulnerable to the effects of stress if they don’t feel in control of the way they do their work, don’t feel valued and consulted, or are treated badly. Workplace bullying, either from managers or colleagues, needs to be handled swiftly and with a zero-tolerance approach. Letting it slide can not only have catastrophic effects on stress levels in the people involved and lead to high turnover – it can also alienate other colleagues who see such behaviour going unpunished.

Tackling the Stress Epidemic

The huge scale of workplace stress can be demoralising for employers who take their duty of care towards their staff seriously. After all, a lot of stress is caused by excessive workloads and interpersonal conflicts – issues that don’t have an “easy answer” that neatly solves them without impacting anything else.

The key is effective communication with your staff. Allowing them a safe space to air their concerns can take a lot of the pressure off them. Listen to their concerns regularly, with a focus on identifying what causes their stress and where this could be improved.

Good quality training in stress management is a vital component of a healthy stress management culture. Managers and employees alike can benefit from more knowledge in this area. It can also ensure that there is more understanding and empathy for a person who might be struggling, as well as a safer environment for people to discuss their concerns.

Creating an environment that is positive for everyone’s mental health is a job as vital as any other in business and it requires action from everybody from senior leaders down.

Why do you Need to Promote Wellness at Work?

“FTSE 100 companies that prioritise employee engagement and wellbeing outperform the rest of the FTSE 100 by 10 per cent.”

That statistic comes from the BITC Workwell FTSE 100 Public Reporting Benchmarking Research Findings – and was included in a report from the mental health charity Mind.

In the same report they include a finding from a survey of 2,060 people in the UK and Wales: “60% of employees say they’d feel more motivated and more likely to recommend their organisation as a good place to work if their employer took action to support mental wellbeing.”

Promoting wellbeing, and creating workplaces that facilitate good mental and physical health, is an affordable way to prevent absences, reduce sickness and improve staff retention rates – as well as your employer brand.

How can your company promote wellbeing at work?

Get senior leaders on board

Support for employee wellbeing programmes must come from the top. Managers and employees should all feel encouraged and supported to pursue wellbeing – in all its guises. Spending time on wellbeing activities is not lost or wasted time; and this message must come from all senior leaders.

Start from the beginning

Employees need to understand the importance of wellbeing from the start of their employment. Employees should be directed to sources of support and encouraged to have honest conversations with their manager so that help can be provided when required. Induction materials should mention wellbeing programmes and reinforce its importance.

Wellbeing programmes

A wellbeing programme and campaign are important to establish the importance of wellbeing, and to raise awareness of the issues and the support available.

Assess the workplace and the work

Your wellbeing programme will be wasted if the work is damaging. Employees need a sustainable workload, healthy working practices and an environment that doesn’t diminish health. For example, you might need to give employees opportunities to take breaks or to experience fresh air and daylight, or you might want to make offices feel less corporate by including plants, healthy snacks and comfortable seating.

Train managers to support wellbeing

Your line managers play a major role in supporting employee wellbeing, and they should be trained to understand the components of wellbeing, and how work can either support, or detract, from employee wellbeing.

Flexible working options

Can your employees manage their lives as effectively as they manage their work? Flexible working can help people organise their lives in a way that makes sense for them, taking into account their other interests, concerns and responsibilities – which in turn can significantly reduce stress and help people focus on their work.

Train employees to address wellbeing

65% of employees don’t take part in any stress-relieving activity (like exercise or spending time on hobbies). This suggests that employees need help to recognise their own role in their wellbeing. While corporate wellbeing programmes are admirable and positive, employees must also take part and take action to reduce stress and make their work manageable and sustainable for the long term.

Work Mates Behaving Badly? What you can do to Prevent Bad Behaviour in the Workplace

Any behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated or offended at work could be classed as bullying or harassment. However, due to the ill-defined nature of bullying (there is no legal definition for the term), it can often be the case that only extreme forms of workplace violence get reported (e.g. physical attacks, verbal abuse, and threats). Managers might even dismiss accusations of bullying and harassment as simple personality-clashes or someone’s robust management ‘style’, but this attitude severely undermines the damaging effects bullying and harassment can have on the workforce – even in organisations which have implemented anti-bullying policies.

Sadly, it appears that bullying is on the rise in Britain’s workplaces; Acas recently released a report stating they receive around 20,000 calls each year relating to bullying and harassment at work, with some callers even contemplating suicide and many reporting that the experience of being bullied has caused them to develop health issues such as anxiety and depression. Acas’ report also highlights areas where bullying seems to be more prevalent, e.g. for women working in male-dominated environments, LGBT workers, and for public sector and health-care workers.

Bullying is repeatedly named as a top-five workplace hazard in polls, which begs the question: why aren’t anti-bullying policies working? We know such policies are widespread in Britain’s workplaces – they are widely recommended by Acas both as an educational tool and as a deterrent for those who would commit workplace abuse – but it remains that simply having a policy isn’t enough.

It’s up to top level management to model and promote a culture of shared responsibility, one in which employees are empowered to report unacceptable behaviour, and feel safe in the knowledge that it will be swiftly and appropriately dealt with. It’s also important to outline what constitutes workplace bullying and harassment, to show examples (particularly of more subtle instances of bullying/harassment), and allow employees to explore bullying scenarios and grey-areas in a safe environment. After all, simply putting something in writing will not change peoples’ behaviour if they lack a full understanding of what it means and how it can affect the people we work with.

So, how can VinciWorks help?

We offer a number of eLearning courses that are designed to educate members of staff and help prevent abusive behaviour in the workplace. Useful as induction tools as well as refresher training for your employees, our courses employ a number of learning techniques and devices to ensure staff stay motivated, engaged, and retentive to the key learning objectives of each module.

What courses do you offer in this area?

Introduction to Equality and Diversity – familiarise your employees with equality and diversity principles, and encourage a fair, honest, and respectful workplace.

Manager’s Guide to Equality and Diversity – Lead by example with this course especially designed for managers. Learn about your responsibilities when it comes to equality and diversity legislation and how to implement principles of equality and diversity in your day-to-day working practices.

Violence and Aggression – Approved by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) this course focuses on nurturing a safe and happy work-place, and takes a closer look at how employees can avoid violence and aggression in the workplace and protect themselves should it occur.

Code of Conduct – Equip your employees with a common framework and set of values from which they can work. A code of conduct is a reference point for members of staff, it guides behaviour and helps explain away any grey-areas they may encounter during their time with the organisation.

Additionally, we offer a range of online compliance and health and safety training courses covering a variety of important topics. All our training is developed in collaboration with subject experts and accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. To view the complete collection, please click here.

Mental health at work

Poor mental health at work is one of the biggest threats to businesses and organisations today. It costs UK employers billions every year in sickness absence, reduced productivity and staff recruitment and takes a terrible toll on individuals’ well-being – yet a huge number of employers are unsure of how to approach the problem and for many it remains a taboo subject.

Workplace stress

Working through lunch every day might impress the boss, but sooner or later it’s going to take its toll, creating an opportunity for unnecessary workplace stress. And it’s not just holidays and lunch-breaks that we’re talking about, either – even short screen breaks are essential for re-charging your batteries and giving you a much-needed chance to rest and recuperate.

Beat the New Year Blues

The Christmas and New Year break tends to be a time when we take stock of our lives – and employers can find that staff have spent the holidays brooding over problems at work or even dusting off the cv and looking for a new job. So what can organisations do to make sure everyone’s on board.