The first few weeks of January are often perceived as a challenging time for employees from a mental wellbeing perspective. Read on for Safewell’s guide to helping you beat the mid-winter blues.
It is the new year and while some will rejoice and create a list of resolutions, it can also be a difficult period for those with a mental health issue, and those whose wellbeing in the workplace is challenged.
Blue Monday The day which is the major focus in January is the so-called ‘Blue Monday’ – the third Monday in January. Although there is no hard evidence to prove this, this is the worse day of the year for mental health.
Despite a lack of firm scientific evidence, there is some empirical research that suggests the month of January is a particularly difficult time for workers. It has become a standard by which to look at the broader picture of mid-winter wellbeing.
Sick Leave
A BBC news article states that Mondays are the most common day for employees to be off sick. More than a third of all sick leave is taken on a Monday, research suggests.
Also, the government’s official data provider, the Office for National Statistics, reveals that in excess of 130 million days are lost to sickness each year – and recently stress has become the biggest workplace sickness issue. The issues for workers are three-fold, according to the man behind the Blue Monday concept, Dr Cliff Arnall, who created it during his time at Cardiff University: debt levels, weather and the associated seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and a failure to keep to new year’s resolutions or lifestyle issues.
We have worked with Safewell for many years and are retained clients, so we have developed an excellent working relationship with the team. However, this really came into its own when Covid 19 appeared.
As a Plumbing and Heating business, we were able to carry on working during the lockdown but only for responding to emergencies. We were obviously very concerned about the health and safety of our employees and before we even had chance to get in touch with Safewell, they had emailed us offering their assistance. It is hard to put down on paper how that made us feel - we like everyone else felt totally at sea, which way to turn, what to do? But Safewell were there guiding, supporting and being totally brilliant. Their attention to detail is very impressive and reassuring and we feel able to ask lots of questions without feeling silly.
During the pandemic Safewell helped us to write risk assessments, safety procedures and protocols. They kept in touch regularly, issuing new guidance as soon as it appeared and checking in with us. They held group Q&A sessions over Zoom which were helpful, and knowing other businesses were facing the same challenges and having the opportunity to discuss issues was invaluable. Their help during the preparation for a full return to work was brilliant, they enabled us to be fully prepared and feel in control, and when we had our first case of Covid within the team, because we had planned our response it felt ok.
I think our team felt very reassured by our robust approach and that our office was Covid secure. We are extremely grateful to all the team at Safewell
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