January is notorious for making us feel blue. And there’s plenty of science that suggests why – but there are also a handful of things you can do to help remedy the feeling. Here’s how you can go the extra mile this month to beat the January Blues, and help boost your team’s morale.

What are the January Blues?

If you’re feeling deflated after the holidays, you’re not alone. New years tend to signify new beginnings, but sometimes they can feel over-hyped.

You might feel like the year hasn’t gone to plan already, the cold might be harder to endure without Christmas lights, and you might be struggling to get back into the swing of things at work.

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Art Markman explains: “After being out for a week or two, it can be hard to snap back into work mode. If you’re feeling sluggish and unmotivated, you’re not alone. There are several reasons for this kind of post-holiday funk — and, fortunately, there are things you can do to get out of it as well.”

The January Blues are said to be most strongly felt on ‘Blue Monday’ – dubbed the saddest day of the year – which falls on the 18th of January. It supposedly marks the peak of our woes, our financial concerns and our guilt that we haven’t kept to our new year’s resolutions. 

The good news is that you’re not alone. The great news is there are plenty of remedies.

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If you’re feeling deflated after the holidays, you’re not alone. You might feel like the year hasn’t gone to plan already, the cold might be harder to endure without Christmas lights, and you might be struggling to get back into the swing of things at work.

7 ways you and your teams can beat the January Blues

We took to LinkedIn to find out how our followers were helping their teams beat the January Blues. We asked:

In light of what is dubbed "Blue Monday" just around the corner, we're asking you to take a moment to reflect on how you're supporting your colleagues, teammates and line reports during this tricky time in all of our lives.

Please do vote in our poll or comment below with your strategies for looking after yours and your teams' emotional and physical wellbeing at the moment.

Here’s what our followers said, along with some extra tips to help.

1. Make use of regular check-ins

In our LinkedIn poll, 68% of people said they were making use of regular check-ins with their teammates. Not only can these help to uncover the emotions behind auto-pilot responses like: “I’m good thanks, you?”, but they can also help us feel connected to our workplaces.

In fact, when we’ve spoken to business leaders about managing employee mental health, communication is crowned as the make-or-break tool. A ‘virtual open-door policy’ is one way to achieve this, but it must ensure employees feel safe, encouraged and comfortable to talk openly and express vulnerability.

Discovering that others are struggling, too, can help us feel less alone, which is why the more people that open up, the better.

2. Take proper lunch breaks

Our days can run away with us. It’s so easy to get sucked into the swirl of apparent urgency. How often have you been surprised at the time and realised it’s been a while since you had a glass of water, a stretch, a meal or a break from your screen?

Truly disengaging is a factor of success, not a distraction from it – the science even says so; daydreaming helps us become more creative, more productive and better at generating new ideas. 

That’s why over a quarter of our poll respondents cited ‘encouraging proper lunch breaks’ as a way they were caring for their colleagues this month. Amid the world’s chaos, instilling a sense of structure and order can help make things feel manageable – so if that means booking a lunchtime meeting with yourself – go for it.

Virtual clubs can help establish a sense of community. This is crucial in helping us feel connected to a wider group, as well as supported and seen.

3. Set up a virtual book club or a running club

We’re social creatures. Employees who are working from home face a risk of feeling additionally isolated and alone this January.

As Tom Walsh in our Flexible Office Solutions team, explains: “Loneliness is one of the most pervasive complaints among remote workers. The micro-interactions employees would usually enjoy in a shared office space – even on a quiet day – can go a long way in helping us feel connected.”

In order to replicate that sense of togetherness, virtual clubs can help establish a sense of community. This is crucial in helping us feel connected to a wider group, as well as supported and seen.

4. Reboot your inner critic

Have you ever been interrupted by a judgemental voice inside your head? You know, the one that tells you off for procrastinating again? Or reminds you of a past mistake? Or tells you you’re underperforming?

Our inner voices are often the harshest of critics – and this is amplified by our very human habit of comparing our behind-the-scenes struggles to our colleagues’ highlight reels.

The good news is that with a touch of self-compassion, we can invite our inner critics to be kinder. Psychoanalyst Nina Savelle-Rocklin explains: “If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself.” Likewise, she advises you to omit judgemental phrases such as “should”, “normal” and “ridiculous”, and mix up your self-talk tone of voice to be more empathetic.

UK charity Mind says that being in nature or green spaces can not only improve our wellbeing, but it can also reduce our feelings of stress and anger.

5. Practice mindfulness

When was the last time you truly embraced a single task? Without background music, phone-scrolling or intermittently replying to emails? Whether you choose to meditate or practice mindfulness, your always-on brain will welcome it as a much-needed break.

Next time you enjoy a cup of tea or eat lunch, try devoting all your attention to the task – without any distractions. It’ll be difficult at first because flitting between things is second nature to us, but it’ll be worth it.

Francesca Cooper-Isow in our Flexible Office Solutions team explains: “Mindfulness is a great way to hone in on the present moment. So often, we’re catastrophising about the future or regretting things in the past. Mindfulness helps ground our thoughts in the experience of here-and-now. It allows us to slow down and focus on what is.”

6. Be in the world – or bring it indoors

We have an intrinsic love for the outside world – we’re wired to “focus on life and life-like processes”. And it’s good for us. UK charity Mind says that being in nature or green spaces can not only improve our wellbeing, but it can also reduce our feelings of stress and anger.

Sitting in a garden, taking a walk or exercising outdoors can do wonders for our January Blues – and the benefits are compounded by the bursts of dopamine we get from moving our muscles. Plus, sunlight is said to boost our serotonin levels, which can help improve our mood, focus us and make us feel calmer.

Our days can run away with us. It’s so easy to get sucked into the swirl of apparent urgency – especially in times that aren’t exactly ‘business as usual’. But truly disengaging is a factor of success, not a distraction from it – the science even says so.

7. Focus on what’s different

If your January Blues are pandemic-related, it’s important to remember how different things are now. Global vaccination programmes are helping us reach a new normal, and despite the presence and risk of new variants, we know much more than we did in 2020.