Not so blue Monday

Feeling a bit glum today? Well, today is what is also known as ‘Blue Monday’. The term has been going around now for over 15 years, with the third Monday of January being tipped as the most depressing day of the year. Now whether you believe Blue Monday to be real or simply pseudo-science, we all know January can be a tough month, which is why we’re trying to brighten up today for our communities. First though, we’re taking a look at how to create a happier working environment.

It’s important to take into consideration the wellbeing of your employees when it comes to the working environment you create for them. After all, we spend around a third of our time at work, so this should be a priority for all workers.
Failing to prioritise wellbeing in the workplace can lead to more absences, reduced productivity, difficulties in attracting and retaining talent, and poor team collaboration. By listening to the needs of your people and providing the right working environment and policies, you’ll be able to create a happier, healthier and more productive workforce.

Inject a sense of home into the office
While nap pods might not be on every business’ agenda, there’s something to be about creating a comfortable working environment. And as more workers look for flexible working patterns, the lines between home and work are becoming blurred. By making an office comfortable, you’re creating a relaxed and stimulating environment. You might want to think about designating specific areas as breakout spaces for people to take some time out or even having a chillout area for people to chat and play games on their breaks.

Workout your brain and body
By now we all know that our mental and physical health are interlinked. So by encouraging people to take care of their bodies through physical activity, you’re also helping to boost their mental wellbeing. It could be as simple as setting up lunchtime walking or running groups for people to get into the fresh and exercising, or ensuring there are showers and bicycle storage for those who want to take a more environmentally friendly route to work.
Or if you wanted to go further, you could also think about finding office space with fitness spaces included within the building. Some of our properties have fitness studios offering classes before and after work and at lunchtimes. Whereas some customers will bring in yoga teachers to provide classes for their employees. Taking part in exercise gives you a creativity boost, so that bit of extra movement can help to spark some great ideas.

Bring nature into your day
The dark mornings and evenings of winter can put us in a low mood, so ensuring staff have access to natural sunlight can have a major impact on wellbeing. Make sure natural light is able to get into the office, and furniture is arranged for maximum light exposure during the short winter days. Bringing the outside in also helps, adding greenery to help connect people with nature, and also improve air quality.

The little things make a difference
It’s small steps like these that can make a big difference to creating a healthy workspace that will have a lasting, positive impact on your employees' mental health. Placing value onto their health and wellbeing, will naturally increase happiness levels, creativity and productivity. A positive and caring work culture benefits everyone.

What are we doing around our regions?
Catch our Bruntwood Works team around Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester today, as we giveaway some small treats to brighten up your day. We’ve got plants for you to add to your office which will help to increase productivity, reduce stress and fatigue, clean the air, boost creativity and reduce noise levels. There’s water for hydration and keeping concentration levels up; and fruit to give you a healthy alternative to the mid morning biscuit which can cause spikes and dips in energy.

Oh and if you manage to grab a giveaway, make sure you use the hashtags #NoSoBlueMonday and #BruntwoodWorks and don't forget to tag us in on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram!