Monday blues may seem like something small, but it’s a real issue that can affect your mental state and even lead to burnout. Learn more about the meaning of Monday blues and how to eliminate them.
Monday blues refers to the negative feelings of sadness, anxiety, disappointment and longing that some people get on Sunday or Monday when they must soon return to work. Some indicators of Monday blues may be increased heart rate, tense muscles, headache, unwillingness to get out of bed in the morning and dread for the week to begin. This is different from clinical depression and generalized anxiety because it is linked to a specific cause at a specific time of the week. Still, Monday blues can be an indication that something is wrong.
Once at work, Monday blues may have an effect as well. Monday blues make people less motivated at work and may cause them to perform poorly or less productively. As the week goes on, people become happier because they are closer to Friday, the start of the weekend. Essentially, people with Monday blues are working for the weekend, constantly looking ahead rather than enjoying the present.
What Causes Monday Blues?
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Of course, it’s normal to be a bit bummed out when you have to go back to work after a fun weekend. When you work a typical five-day work week, the weekday evenings and weekends are the only free time you get, and this time is precious. It’s normal for anybody to look forward to these periods, and symptoms of Monday blues can vary in type and severity.
Still, if you’ve had a good weekend, you should feel rested and ready to go back to work on Monday. However, serious Monday blues symptoms, in which people are very unhappy, point to a larger problem. If your work is triggering anxiety, sadness, pessimism, stress and exhaustion every Monday, this is not normal and should be looked into. Reasons for this dissatisfaction could occur for a variety of reasons.
- Low pay
- You feel under-appreciated
- Bad relationships with your colleagues or supervisors
- Extremely high workload
- Monotonous, boring work
- Stressful work environment
Combating Monday Blues
(Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / RonaldCandonga)
- Figure out the problem and address it: Think about what it is specifically that makes you dread the start of your work week. It may be something such as low pay that means you can’t really enjoy your downtime or a colleague who you don’t get along with. In these scenarios, you can set up a meeting with your supervisor or HR and ask for a raise or to be moved to a different team, for example.
- Take care of yourself: Prioritize your mental and physical health to try and improve your overall mood. This means eating healthily, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and practicing self-care.
- Practice gratitude: Try and change your mindset by keeping a gratitude journal. Reminding yourself of what you’re grateful for can go a long way in improving your mood when you’re feeling down.
- Schedule accordingly: If you know you get Monday blues, try and keep your Monday schedule relatively chill by scheduling meetings in advance for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and working harder on Fridays so that you don’t come into the office the next week feeling behind.
- Lighten the mood at work: Improve your mood every day of the week by planning something small and fun to cheer you up at work. This could be a quick coffee break with a friend, lunch plans, or a new idea for the office that you’re excited to bring up.
- Enjoy your weeknights: Instead of always looking forward to the weekend and barely making it through the week, schedule fun plans during the week as well. Monday evenings, especially, may be a good time for you to make dinner plans or catch a movie with a loved one.
- Consider seeking employment elsewhere: If none of the above tips improve your Monday blues, no position is worth sacrificing your happiness. Of course, not everybody can have their dream job, but it is perfectly valid to seek a position that is satisfying and interesting enough for you to get through the week without bouts of depression. Seriously, if your job gives you severe Monday blues every week, it’s worth it to interview with companies who will value and fulfill you.
Read More:
- 5 Ways to Make Employment Work for You
- Here Are the Best Ways to Quit a Job
- How to Improve Concentration: 10 Ways to Focus Better
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