Home > It’s Blue Monday, let’s talk about mental health in the workplace 

It’s Blue Monday, let’s talk about mental health in the workplace 


image of a blue coffee cup with a sad face

Picture this; it’s a dark, cold, winter morning, the Christmas lights and decorations are gone, the excitement of your time off over the holidays has long since passed, and to top it all off, it’s Monday. Sound familiar? As ‘Blue Monday’ rolls around, just what is ‘Blue Monday’, and what should businesses be doing about it? 

What’s so Blue about Monday 17th

Blue Monday is the name given to the third Monday in January, said to be the saddest day of the year, made even gloomier over the past couple of years with the additional stresses of the global pandemic. This year, Blue Monday falls on Monday 17th January and according to the Metro the sadness is ‘due to a combination of bad weather, long nights and the lingering aftermath of the festive glut.’ 

And that’s without accounting for the impact of Covid-19 and the rise in cases over the Christmas period, which has no doubt sparked fresh anxieties and feelings of loneliness and isolation in many. 

Mental Health at Work in 2022 

1 in 6.8 people will experience mental health issues in the workplace and so, as Blue Monday greets us this year, and as we enter into another year plagued by the pandemic, it is important to think about mental health at work and how to improve it. 

According to the Mental Health Foundation ‘The pressure of an increasingly demanding work culture is one of the biggest challenges to society’s mental health.’ This is now mixed with the added pressures of Covid-19, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020 and has resulted in more than two thirds of all adults with mental health problems experiencing a deterioration in their mental wellbeing during lockdown

For a business, over-worked employees with poor mental health are a recipe for disaster. Engaged employees who feel valued are vital for a thriving business. Workplace website Glassdoor cited employee engagement as ‘a critical driver of business success in today’s competitive marketplace’, explaining that engaged employees are so valuable due to ‘promoting retention, fostering customer loyalty and improving organisational performance.’ 

By contrast, disengaged and unhappy employees contribute to absenteeism and presenteeism in the workplace among other things. Absenteeism is classified as unauthorised absence at work and presenteeism accounts for workers who are at work but are not focused or actually working. According to Sage HR the cost of one single unhappy employee is £16,000 per year and mental health as a whole costs businesses £1,035 per employee, per year too. 

Furthermore, Absenteeism costs UK businesses $668.64 per employee, per year and mental health is one of the leading causes of absent employees with evidence to suggest that 12.7% of all sickness days in the UK are caused by mental health conditions.  

How to improve mental health in the workplace 

To combat overworking, it’s important to understand why we do it. Why work a 10-hour day when you are paid for 8 hours? Why work on a Saturday if you don’t need to? According to the BBC, while some people overwork to pay off debts, to keep jobs, or to further their careers, others over-extend because of a culture that glorifies and embraces overworking: ‘For those who embrace the overwork culture, there’s also a performative element, whether that manifests as a new car to show off, a ‘dream career’ doing something meaningful or even exhaustion that can be displayed like a bizarre kind of trophy.’ 

The Mental Health Foundation suggests that employers should undertake a risk assessment of their workplace to identify psychological hazards. Examples identified by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work include ‘excessive workloads’, ‘conflicting demands and lack of role clarity’, ‘ineffective communication’ and ‘poorly managed organisational change’ among others. 

Some actions businesses can take include providing support services such as mental health first aiders, regularly talking about mental health to your employees, encouraging them to disclose when they are feeling stressed or overworked, encouraging employees to take breaks and to only work during their scheduled work hours and investing in mental health training for line-managers. 

The Mental Health Foundation also suggests a number of actions that employers can take including offering flexible/remote working, regularly reviewing workloads, giving employees time off for volunteering and encouraging stress-relieving activities such as lunchtime exercise or relaxation classes. 

Brew Monday at Bridgehouse 

Here at Bridgehouse we are dedicated to providing flexible working that allows for a good work-life balance. Many of our employees are parents or carers and we know how important it is to encourage home working, provide flexible hours and to treat our employees with respect and understanding when it comes to creating a balance that works for us and for them. 

This Blue Monday we have decided to take a leaf out of the Samaritans book and have organised our very own ‘Brew Monday’, you can read about the Samaritans ‘Brew Monday’ initiative here. We sent each of our employees hot chocolate and marshmallows and invited them all to take part in our Blue Monday Brew Break in which we encouraged everyone to take some time out of their day to talk to one another in a safe space. 

Mental Health Resources 

Resources for Personal Use 

  • Calm is a mindfulness app which personalises its recommendations based on your mental health goals which can include better sleep and reduced stress amongst others. You can access mindfulness tools such as guided meditation and calming stories to wind down. 
  • The Mental Health foundation has a range of free videos and podcasts available on its website. These resources cover a range of topics such as Isolation and Loneliness, Uni and Mental Health and Stress, with new additions added regularly. 
  • This free to use website provides access to mental health resources and advice. The ‘Your Mind Plan’ service allows access to tailored tips and advice. 
Resources for Employers 
  • Businesses can organise a bespoke training day from The Samaritans which accommodates up to 12 people. You can find out more about workplace staff training by either filling in an online enquiry form or calling The Samaritans on 020 8394 8349. 
  • Headspace for Work allows businesses to purchase Headspace subscriptions for their employees. The platform provides meditation and mindfulness solutions to improve sleep, reduce stress and encourage good mental health. To enquire, fill in the enquiry form here or schedule a demo here

If you are need urgent help for a mental health issue see here for the NHS advice on who you can call and what services you can access in an emergency.