January Mental Health Beyond Blue Monday: Decoding Employee Feelings in January

How are your employees feeling going back to work after the break and with the full year ahead of them?

Blue Monday was devised by a Psychologist searching for the ‘bleakest day of the year to incentivise people to book more holidays with Sky Travel.

While Blue Monday was a marketing ploy, it resonates with the post-holiday slump many face.

In recent years, ‘blue monday’ received on average 300K* Google searches in January and on top of this, NHS research shows that the ‘winter blues’ affects around 2 million people in the UK and more than 12 million people across northern Europe.

Stress and anxiety searches on Google rise in the first two weeks of January, after the Christmas break.  The daunting new year ahead, going back to work and winter months ahead all contribute to this. People are increasingly looking for ways to manage stress and anxiety this month; searches for self care practices like chair yoga, meditation for sleep, head massage all grew last January.

On TikTok #workanxiety received 275M views, videos include tips on how to manage it and creators normalising it. Shopping suggestions for the hashtag include remedies such as fidget toys, calming breathing necklaces, crystals and journals.

It’s clear to us that the winter months are a very difficult time for people in the UK. It’s not rocket science we know, but the evidence is plain to see – people are desperate to find the support that will work for them in this particular period and just cannot be ignored.

We set up www.get-zen.io to support companies and humans who need expertise and ease when looking after their employees’ mental health.

By showcasing a multi-disciplinary approach to meet the many different needs of individuals, we exist to alleviate the worry that so many business leaders carry. Leaders who know they need to support their staff, but are unsure where to start.

Working with GetZeN can help you anonymously uncover employee sentiment, measure the results and deliver the right, targeted programmes with ease. We help you stop wasting budgets on wellbeing programmes that your employees just don’t want and support them, in the right way.

Get in touch for more information hello@get-zen.io and book in a free consultation to see how we can help.

*Google Search data Jan 2020, Jan 2021, Jan 2022, Jan 2023