How to beat the Monday blues

The term Monday blues refers to a feeling of low mood or anticipation, fatigue and poor motivation when returning to work after the weekend. While this feeling may be familiar, there isn’t concrete evidence behind the Monday blues as a discrete phenomenon.

Some studies demonstrate people self-report their mood as lower on Mondays compared to other days of the week. Other research suggests the way that people predict that their mood will vary on weekdays vs weekends differs from their recollection of how their mood varies across the week, and differs again from what they actually experience in the moment! Yet more research suggests that the same group of employees perceive their job satisfaction and work pressures differently at the beginning vs the end of the workweek.

The evidence base is variable in both findings and quality, and it is also difficult to translate evidence from one work setting to another. This makes it difficult to know whether the Monday blues exist in your context, in your organisation. It is also important to point out that changes in mood and mental state in response to the ebbs and flows of life are normal and not pathological, unless changes in mental state are significant, pervasive and begin to affect how we function day to day. 

Monday blues and work-related stress triggers 

This said, there is always merit in reflecting on our relationship between work and health. This is because optimising this relationship helps improve productivity. If feeling on edge around return to work after the weekend is something you experience it could be useful for you to unpack this further. If you are a manager or team leader and are worried about your team feeling low in energy and motivation on Mondays, it could be useful to do a stock take of how people are feeling about work more generally.

One evidence based approach to this is undertaking a work-related stress risk assessment. A structured toolkit, such as the one available on the Health and Safety Executive website takes you through the main risk factors for work-related stress- from organisational change to lack of support. This helps pinpoint any pressure points, which when addressed should help improve how individuals feel towards their work. In turn, this reduces the risk of low mood or anxiety around work having a significant and longer term impact on health and productivity. 

Monday blues and sleep-wake cycles 

Another potential angle on improving mood and productivity when returning to work after the weekend relates to sleep/ wake cycles. Some people have inconsistent sleep and wake times depending on whether they are working the next day or not. When significant,  this variation in sleep and wake times can create effects not dissimilar to jet lag, with physiological consequences such as cortisol levels being out of sync with our usual rhythm, leading to changes in mood and energy levels. Sleep deprivation and inconsistent sleep schedules correlate with lower mood. Again, there isn’t enough evidence to know where this holds true for each individual in their own context. BUT the likelihood is you would be able to recognise if disrupted sleep/wake cycles are a factor in your own outlook on work!

The power of return to work meetings 

Returning from annual leave, statutory leave, or long periods of sickness absence can bring about similar changes in circadian rhythm and can also be impacted by work-related stress triggers. This is why return to work meetings as well as ensuring any outstanding work-related stress risk factors are addressed after longer periods of workplace absence are so helpful in bridging this change.  

So in summary, while we can’t necessarily attribute it all to the Monday blues, thinking about mood and energy levels around return to work can definitely be a useful exercise.

Two evidence-based points of leverage to improve things are 

1. Examining any work-related stress risk factors

2. Seeing whether sleep/ wake cycles could be optimised