While January is the start of the year, it also represents an end to holiday leisure, fueling post-holiday blues that some say culminate in “Blue Monday.” Considered by some wellness observers to fall on the third Monday of the month, Blue Monday represents the disappointment and even depression that can peak as life gets back to normal after the holidays, winter settles in and the financial realities of the holiday season hit.
It’s a “perfect storm” for stress and burnout among employees, says Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, chief people officer at global people platform Dayforce. Coincidentally, Blue Monday this year also falls on Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the U.S.—highlighting the confluence of factors that could drive up stress among workers this year.
“The economic and geopolitical uncertainties of today amplify the stress employees commonly face during this time of year,” Cappellanti-Wolf says.
Blue Monday: ‘a critical reminder’
While Blue Monday may direct HR’s attention to employee stress, it’s a focus that needs to persist year-round, Cappellanti-Wolf says.
A report from Aflac this fall found that nearly 40% of American employees surveyed reported high stress and more than half reported signs of burnout—owing to everything from unmanageable workloads to financial pressures.
“These challenges extend far beyond a single day,” Cappellanti-Wolf says. “Blue Monday is a critical reminder for organizations that wellbeing initiatives shouldn’t be seasonal but part of a year-round commitment.”
Those that do proactively address employee wellbeing, she adds, “set their teams up for long-term success.”
It’s a reality that many organizations are already noting. In HR Executive’s recent What’s Keeping HR Up at Night? research, more than 10% of those surveyed cited employee wellbeing as their top HR challenge; an additional 8% pointed to employee benefits, including financial wellness. Nearly one-third of the 400 HR professionals surveyed are looking to strengthen employee wellness as a strategy for improving employee experience and retention.
The heightened attention to employee wellbeing was demonstrated this week with Glassdoor’s announcement that popular author and organizational psychologist Adam Grant will become its first chief worklife expert. Glassdoor stated that Grant will leverage its workplace data to help organizations address “critical issues like burnout, career growth and workplace wellbeing.”
“Through this collaboration,” Grant said, “I hope to help people do more meaningful work and organizations build more supportive and productive cultures.”
4 strategies to make employee wellbeing a year-round investment
HR will play a critical role in establishing such cultures, Cappellanti-Wolf says—environments where “openness, support and encouragement” can thrive, long after Blue Monday is over.
She points to four strategies HR can embrace to make this work take root:
Lead by example: HR should encourage leaders to share personal stories about how mental health challenges have impacted their own lives, if they’re comfortable, she says. In doing so, leaders can model “vulnerability and resilience,” emphasizing to employees that it’s not only OK to discuss mental health at work but encouraged.
Support managers: Cappellanti-Wolf calls managers the “linchpin of workplace culture.” Given that they typically would be the first to recognize stress or burnout among their teams, they need the training and tools to see these signs and take the right action.
Normalize talking about wellbeing: Whether from the lens of mental health, physical health or financial health, HR should work to open up conversations throughout the company about employee wellbeing, she says. This can include awareness campaigns and workshops, as well as efforts to embed such discussions in team meetings and internal communications.
Make resources accessible: While HR needs to ensure resources and policies that support employee wellbeing are in place, Cappellanti-Wolf says, it’s also important that they are “highly visible and accessible.” For instance, employees must be well-versed in mental health day allowances or how to access wellness programs.
Wellbeing on a budget
While HR leaders are increasingly recognizing the need to sustain an organization’s commitment to employee wellbeing beyond Blue Monday, they may run up against budgetary concerns.
In HR Executive’s recent research, budgeting emerged near the top of the list of HR challenges.
Cappellanti-Wolf acknowledges that budgets are “a reality for every organization,” but employee wellbeing investment doesn’t have to come with a significant price tag. Such efforts can even be cost-savers.
For instance, by focusing on the visibility of and communication about existing resources like employee assistance programs or financial health supports, HR can drive employee utilization of under-used resources—which could ultimately reduce claims costs in the future. Similarly, by leveraging employee listening strategies, HR can target solutions for the workforce’s specific needs, maximizing impact while minimizing spend, she says.
HR can also encourage employee wellbeing initiatives that may not cost much but offer a significant ROI—like flexible work options, unlimited PTO and meeting-free days.
It’s imperative that HR leaders, Cappellanti-Wolf adds, communicate the business impact—from reduced turnover to improved performance—of employee wellbeing investment to the rest of the C-suite.
“By tying wellbeing efforts to business outcomes and employee needs,” she says, “HR can secure leadership buy-in while creating meaningful, long-lasting improvements for employees.”
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