Employee Tips to Combat the January Blues

January is known as the month of New Year’s resolutions, a recommitment to healthier eating habits, a reboot to regular exercise, and the hopeful promise of a fresh start to the next 12 months. It also introduces: failed resolutions, post-Christmas spending credit card bills, dark and cold winter days, and something called ‘Blue Monday’.

What is Blue Monday?

The third Monday of January is known as the most depressing day of the year or ‘Blue Monday’. This year we have a few new elements added to an already challenging month: a second wave of the pandemic, social isolation, and virtual meeting fatigue. Mix in known depression and anxiety-provoking triggers such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) along with Blue Monday and the result is a month chock-full of potential mental health challenges.

Preventative Measures

For employers dealing with remote work arrangements, communication challenges add yet another layer of complexity to January’s already fraught climate. People are ‘Zoomed-out’, burnt out and dealing with more economic and financial volatility than ever before.

Leaders are tasked with finding ways to help employees set healthy remote work/home life boundaries and pursue the help they need to survive during these uncertain times.

It’s Hard To Tell

When communicating via virtual meeting platforms like Zoom, there is the ability to pick up some but not all of a person’s nonverbal cues. Now more than ever, it is important to provide quick tips and resources for employees facing increased pressure on their mental health especially when the signs aren’t easily noticeable.

We’ve provided ideas related to mental health in past blog posts and, here, we’re focused on breathing, meditation and mindfulness for anxiety and stress reduction for employees.

Quick Tips

Here are 3 suggestions to consider:

• Practice Belly or Diaphragmatic Breathing. This can be in the form of a video link and a 5-minute break at the beginning or end of a meeting or even during a Zoom call ‘breakout’ to introduce the power of breathing as a self care technique.
  
  Belly breathing is a great way to relax the body, calm the mind, and improve one’s overall sense of well-being. It can be as simple as trying Equal Breathing which is inhaling for the same amount of time as you’re exhaling.
  
• Introducing meditation as a stress-reducing self care practice. Meditation is known to reduce stress, allow for a better quality of sleep and enhance creativity, clear thinking and decision-making. For example, guided meditations for anxiety and stress are helpful ways to sprinkle self care into one’s day. There are several apps and websites available to support employees who are interested in meditation.
  
• Include Mindfulness and Grounding Techniques. There are many different ways to incorporate mindfulness into one’s day. Sharing short videos or leading employees through a 1-minute grounding exercise allows for a quick mental reset.
  
  AnxietyCanada.ca also has helpful tips and resources on their website including how to do a mindful body scan and mindful breathing.

No one can pour from an empty cup and it is hard to stay focused on customer service, innovation, and meeting deadlines when you’re mentally drained or weighed down with worries. These tips aren’t intended to be a cure-all. They are designed to give you ideas for supporting your employees.

Regular reminders, videos and links ensure employees have access to methods they can use to combat the January Blues in both easy and free ways during these challenging times.

We know there is a great deal to consider regarding this topic. Please contact us with your questions and let’s work together and create solutions that work best for you and your organization.