The winter blues are a real thing.
Sometimes referred to as seasonal depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, this major depressive disorder affects thousands of people every winter. The reason behind the winter blues is simple, a lack of natural sunlight. While it may be impossible to make the day sunnier, there are several ways to ensure your team practice several mood-improving habits, be it working in an office, or working at home.
What are the symptoms of Seasonal Depression?
Seasonal depression can have an impact on an individual employee’s mood and performance as well as knock-on effects on your team. Winter’s short days, long nights, and colder temperatures trigger an urge in humans similar to hibernation. Even with heated offices, highly-efficient lighting, and modern work standards, we are still affected by the natural world around us.
This ‘hibernation’ can manifest in several ways such as; a desire to sleep longer, low energy, less patience, and a reduced need to socialise. The NHS also lists; a loss of pleasure or interest in everyday activities, feelings of despair, guilt, worthlessness, and a craving for carbohydrates. These can affect personal and professional life, making it vitally important to understand the needs of your employees to suggest ways to combat Seasonal Depression. This not only affects your team but can have negative effects on the business as a whole.
Educating managers about the importance of dealing with SAD is the first step in promoting better mental health and performance in the winter months. This will not only make your team happier as a whole but also prepare managers to react and communicate with teams quickly and effectively.
How can you fight the effects of SAD in the workplace?
The causes of seasonal depression are numerous. The accepted theory, however, is that a lack of sunlight prevents the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus from working efficiently. The hypothalamus is responsible for, amongst other things, the production of melatonin, serotonin, and for the management of your body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm).
Melatonin is a hormone that makes you feel sleepy, helping you get a good night’s rest. Serotonin is another hormone with several control functions over mood, appetite, and sleep. Less sunlight means it’s tough for your hypothalamus, and body, to know when to sleep or wake up leading to the symptoms mentioned above.
There are several strategies to combat this imbalance. We’re going to take a look at some that are easy to include in everyday routines to combat the dreaded winter blues.
Stay active
Lethargy is one of the most common symptoms of SAD and one that can affect your team’s mood, productivity, and self-confidence. Exercise is the best way to fight off fatigue and lethargy.
Exercise improves mood, sharpens the mind, helps people sleep better, and makes you more resilient to illness. Even just a brisk 10-minute walk during a lunch break or before a meeting can increase mental alertness, energy, and promote a positive mindset. Suggest or take charge of team exercise activities before important events or around lunch breaks to prevent SAD and keep your team motivated.
Get loads of natural light
SAD is also thought to be caused by a lack of natural light. Therefore one of the easiest ways to combat it is to maximise the natural light in your workplace. Open the curtains and blinds wide during the day and make sure your employees spend some time outside every day, at least on brighter days. This can be coupled with team exercises and brief walks outside of the office.
In the workplace, you can support your team by investing in bright lights that recreate the outdoors. Spending a day outside can expose you to thousands of light units known as lux. While this isn’t possible every day, research has shown that people exposed to just 2,500 lux can improve mood and energy.
Even the brightest office lights can’t account for all the light needed. Brighten up the office by opening curtains and blinds, suggest breaks and time outside in between tasks, or invest in brighter lights during the winter months. You can also spruce up the office with plants or colourful accessories.
Talk to someone
If you think your team may be suffering from the effects of SAD, or want to intervene before it becomes an issue, make sure there is someone your team can talk to. An HR representative, wellness advisor, or therapist, there is a range of resources at your disposal to provide your team with someone to talk to about SAD. Talking about feelings is a healthy way to process the winter blues and will help your team perform better during the winter months.
Practice healthy sleeping habits
Sleep plays an important role in physical and mental health. You can educate your team on the importance of healthy sleeping habits and share information or access to professional support available. In general, getting a good night’s rest is one of the best ways to deal with the added pressures of SAD and even prevent it from fomenting in the first place.
Eat right
Last but not least, is nutrition. If you’re concerned about SAD and illness during the winter months, then you can provide information about healthy eating, bring in a nutritionist to answer questions, and provide healthy snacks in the office. These are not just added bonuses to everyday work life but also helpful reminders of the importance of healthy eating.
CUBE HR
Educating managers and team leaders about SAD and the strategies to combat this disorder are key to supporting your staff’s mental health and maintaining a high level of service.
At CUBE HR, we practice HR differently. Our belief is that happy employees make happy customers which, in turn, creates a thriving business. We put your business, customers, and teams first and foremost. We are in the business of making workplaces happy and productive. These elements go hand in hand and we have developed winning strategies to encourage communication and give you the skills to make your employees happier.
Whether you need a full HR service or assistance with a specific project on an ad-hoc basis, our HR packages are tailored to your needs. We also offer a free HR Health Check and Risk Assessment and are ready and waiting to answer any other questions you may have. Contact us now and experience award-winning HR services.
