After a much needed respite over the Christmas period, we often imagine we will return to work recharged with energy and motivated for the new year. However, as January draws to a close that energy and resilience can slowly dwindle and unhealthy working habits can begin to resurface, says wellbeing consultant Lesley Cooper. With the additional pressures of the cost of living crisis, employees may be feeling even more overwhelmed as they try to navigate personal and professional challenges..
A management consultant with a background in health and wellbeing consulting in the private healthcare sector, Lesley Cooper, has over 25 years’ experience in the design and delivery of all elements of employee wellbeing management programmes. She is founder and CEO of WorkingWell, an award-winning specialist consultancy that helps organisations to manage pressure and stress in a way that facilitates a culture of sustainable high performance.
“January is notoriously a challenging month at work, with the post Christmas blues setting in as we face new challenges and responsibilities. For those people who may already be struggling with their wellbeing, or who have a tendency towards unhealthy working habits, this period can be particularly tough’’ highlights Lesley.
‘’Leaders must remain vigilant in noticing tell-tale signs that people are struggling, in order to prevent manageable issues spiralling into long-term damage. They should also remain aware of their own working habits and take active steps to model the right wellbeing and performance behaviours. This will help leaders maintain the culture of psychological safety that enables and supports sustainable high performance’’ she says.
To kickstart healthy working habits in 2023, Lesley has shared 5 signs to watch out for as you settle back into working life this year:
1.Increased irritability – our patience often depletes as our energy reserves become low. Increased irritability can often signify deeper wellbeing issues. If you notice someone is being short with colleagues, or particularly sensitive to criticism, this could signal that they are headed towards burnout or struggling with their emotional wellbeing and self-regulation. It is important to also reflect on your own interactions and notice if your responses were the best ones.
2. Struggling to manage pressure – when our wellbeing is suffering we become less resilient, and more likely to struggle to manage pressure in a sustainable way. If maintaining control of emotions is becoming challenging, or you notice colleagues being frantic, this can signify wider wellbeing concerns. Managers and leaders should encourage open conversations about workload and how teams are feeling about it as they continuously develop both their own, and their team members capacity for emotional self regulation.
3. Not taking breaks – overworking is a common response to spiralling demand and an unhealthy habit that many of us fall into. It can be easy to default into not taking regular breaks because in the short term it makes us feel more productive. In the long term, being continuously ‘on’ undermines rather than enhances personal and team performance. If someone appears to be working through their lunch breaks, or not taking leave, then they could be fast tracking themselves towards burnout.
Unlike computers, the human brain cannot do the same task repeatedly for more than 90-120 minutes before losing focus. Intentional recovery reduces the linearity of challenging tasks, and should be deployed as an investment in the next performance wave.
4. Working outside of hours – even if people are recovering and taking breaks, during the day, work should not be allowed to bleed into the time allocated for their personal lives and additional responsibilities outside of work. Breaks in the working day don’t make up for time lost in evenings and weekends. This time is needed for recovery and renewal. Everyone needs time away and disengaged from work, in order to maximise performance when they return.
If people are feeling stressed about workload that has accumulated after time off over Christmas, they may try to ‘catch-up’ by working through their personal hours. Leaders should discourage this tendency and allow appropriate boundaries to be set.
5. Withdrawing at work – if people become quiet and withdrawn at work and reluctant to engage with colleagues, it could mean they are lacking the energy to communicate and deliberately detaching themselves. This detachment could be seen in meetings, reduction in output or more home working (if this is an option). Once noticed, this must be addressed with the colleague supportively and cautiously, signposting to specialist support as required.
”Sharpening up your powers of observation will help you spot early signs of declining wellbeing before they develop into more serious issues’’ says Lesley. She continues “Emotional support services should be easily accessible and should include psychologically safe opportunities for people to explore their challenges with empathy and compassion, within teams, with line managers or with healthcare professionals.’’
