30 Jan 2020

Five ways to help your staff beat the January blues

Blue Monday occurs after the festive season and is said to be the most depressing day of the year. After the Christmas break is over, and the tinsel gets put away, we realise our bank balance has a lot more negatives than positives, and our waistlines have gained a bit more than we would have liked too!

The 3rd Monday of January has been calculated as the day when we notice our mental health is at its lowest. This is a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder - SAD. However, there is a way to deal with the January Blues; and for employers these are the ways you could get your employees back to high spirits. Rather than letting your employees be in a persistent low mood and having little interest in what they’re doing, you can make an impact and improve their current lifestyle as a conscientious employer.

Of course, there’s an upside to this from a business point of view: happier employees work longer and harder, and how could you want anything other than happy employees within your workplace?

1) Create a positive working space

We spend nearly a quarter of our lifetime at work so it’s important to create a space that’s functional, comfortable, welcoming and visually appealing. Updating and creating a more positive workspace can improve teamwork, as well as raise morale and increase productivity and efficiency.

You can improve the workspace you already have by installing new kitchen appliances, creating a comfortable seating area (a ‘chill space’ as they’re increasingly known), or by providing a selection of healthy snacks to everyone. Even a fresh coat of paint to the office walls can help brighten up the room and may even be a way to enhance your branding. Wall decorations don’t need to be expensive either, you could use some simple vinyl stickers to set an enjoyable tone and atmosphere for your employees to work in.

You can encourage and even arrange work-based social events, like trips bowling or just to the pub. A chance for the team to down tools, step away from the phone and emails, and just enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed atmosphere.

Another increasingly popular idea is to create a flexible working time where everyone in the team meets up once a week, say on a Friday afternoon, for about 30 minutes just to discuss the week that’s behind them and any plans for the following week.

Continue reading for four more effective ways you can help your staff beat the January blues.

This article is provided by Bluecrest.