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It’s no longer the most wonderful time of the year. In fact, it may be the saddest.
The third Monday in January, or “Blue Monday,” is considered to be the most depressing day of the year, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). "Daylight is at a premium, nights are long and cold, holiday bills are arriving, and most of us are the furthest away we can be from the next thing to look forward to,” CAMH writes.
And it can follow employees into the workplace, said Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, chief people officer at Dayforce, affecting engagement and productivity.
“It’s that let down of: The holidays are done. The celebrations are done. The family is gone, and now I’ve got to go back to work, and, ‘Gosh, how do I get back into the swing of things because I feel sluggish?’” she told HR Brew. “It is a real thing around just that feeling of morose, and lethargy, and a little bit of sadness that things are over.”
Cappellanti-Wolf said Blue Monday should serve as a reminder to people leaders to prioritize employees’ well-being, not just in January, but throughout the year. She recommended HR teams think about it holistically, in terms of physical, mental, and financial health.
“How do we offer more of those types of systemic programs, but also [have] the conversation about it?” she said. “[Is there an] environment where employees feel like they’re supported? Like, ‘Hey, I can talk about these things, I have access to, whether it’s EAP, whether it’s gym memberships…and if I sign up or enroll in those things, it’ll be supported by my manager.’”
Cappellanti-Wolf said she does this at Dayforce by creating a culture that encourages taking time off, through company-wide wellness days, and unlimited PTO. The company also offers “Focused Fridays,” so employees have quiet time to get work done. To help alleviate some financial stress, the company offers its Dayforce Wallet product internally, so employees can access earned wages ahead of payday.
“There’s going to be periods that we all have down times, or down feelings. Doesn’t have to just center around Blue Monday, which seems to be the one where more people seem to suffer at the same time,” she said, later adding “I can’t change the weather…[but] I can offer things around financial, and mental, and physical wellness.”