Winter Blues 

While the beginning of winter can be enjoyable with crisp mornings and Christmas buildup, January and February can feel more of a slog.  The short days, cold weather, relentless rain (at least in some parts!) and even snow can start to wear on even the most chipper among us.  As well as contributing to people generally feeling a bit fed up, this time of year can take an even greater toll on those with a history of depression, anxiety or similar who may find their mental health takes a nosedive without the right support. Employers should be aware of the potential risk and be alert to signs that staff may be struggling.  While particular consideration should be given to employees with a history of mental health struggles, it is also important to be alive to the fact that those who may not usually suffer with poor mental health may still be more susceptible to low mood or anxiety at this time of year.

Although certain times of the year see spikes in mental health issues, most employers appreciate that supporting employees’ mental wellbeing is important generally, so hopefully there are already support measures and systems in place that can be utilised should the winter blues make an appearance.  If this is the case, be sure to advertise the existence of such support measures and make it clear to employees how each kind of support can be accessed. While this information may be available in staff handbooks, sending a companywide email or publishing a post on the staff notice board helps to remind people of the options available to them and may encourage them to utilise them if they need to.  Support can be both formal or informal.  At the more formal end it may involve referring staff to occupational health or other medical professionals, or, alternatively, it may be that the employee feels self-help measures should be sufficient.  Support can be provided in accessing self-help measures by offering advice and assistance in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, for example, subsidised gym memberships or onsite exercise facilities, or perhaps offering free access to online resources such as Calm or Headspace.  Offering to allow temporary changes to working hours or locations, for example, by allowing an employee to work from home more often if they feel this would be beneficial, could help them get through a difficult period. As may looking at individual workloads and making sure that staff do not have more work than they can reasonably handle, taking into account their individual circumstances as well as the parameters of their role.  Senior staff should be trained to spot signs of stress, anxiety and depression in team members, on how best to enquire after an employee’s wellbeing, on what support is available and on how to offer help. It would likely be beneficial to provide refresher training to managers around this time of year so that they feel suitably skilled to address any issues that may arise.  While a willingness to help is never a bad thing, it is important for managers to be mindful of their limitations and to know when they should be referring an employee for more specialist help.

While staff wellbeing should be at the forefront of any company HR strategy, there are certain events which make an individual, or multiple individuals, more susceptible to suffering poor mental health and this time of the year, is one such event.  While many people will start to feel lighter once Spring has sprung, it is important to remember that this will not be the case for everyone and to keep checking in with staff who need support even after winter is but a dark and distant memory.