How Employers Are Addressing the Sunday Scaries?
Ago sometimes long weekends end, yet an apprehension sets in as evening starts to give way to Sunday Scaries. Well, it is a reality.
There are many causes for dread; for some, the workweek is ever approaching, while for some, interpersonal issues concerning work-life balance bear down on them.
1. Wellness Programs
No one should have to worry on a Monday about workload issues or the weight of unfinished tasks from the last week- But that shouldn't be the case for anyone! Hope is out there.
There exist employee wellness programs that go beyond ping pong tables and pet-friendly environments to improve employee well-being in a holistic manner. These programs can encompass all activities, from career advancement and spiritual guidance to financial counseling, giving their staff the power to identify solutions most tailored to the individual.
2. Employee Assistance Programs
The Sunday Scaries could be seen to weigh heavily on some individuals struggling to make it through Monday, perhaps setting the stage for an awkward week. Anxiety about an unaccomplished task, stress keeping up with the work-life balance, or questions about the industry, and that might not all contribute in creating some distress back in the office.
Employee assistance programs provide support toward identifying these causes while allowing employees to learn healthier modes of coping with such adversity affecting them. An EAP may even go as far as referring assignees for treatment services, if need be.
Employers can encourage their employees to practice self-care on Sundays by discouraging the use of electronic devices and promoting family or friend-centered fun instead: a brisk walk around town, hot coffee or meals to carry straight to the office come Monday morning. Employers would complement their encouragement of good self-care practices during this downtime with employee assistance programs.
3. Mentorship Programs
In contrast to an organization's culture, stress, training needs; different employees feel a different kind of anxiety.
One more approach to alleviate Sunday Scares would be to do a paradigm shift, making the weekend much more fun. Instead of thinking of Sundays as the last day of one's leisure time, think of Sunday as an opportunity to undertake some adventure, such as cooking classes, or something creative and fun, like learning paper mache techniques! Sometimes overcoming the Sunday Scaries could seem impossible, but with a little guidance and support, it can be done!
4. Flexible Work Schedules
For so many Sunday morning survey respondents, their particular Sunday Scaries originated from fears at work, unresolved tasks, meetings or events seemingly returning before one knew it. Among the two biggest stressors that identified in the survey conducted in 2022, this is that anxiety: these are not necessarily correlated with low morale at work; rather they were external catalysts remaining high on the rank in the context of organizational culture, management types, or workplace dynamics that only served to augment an already present sense of discomfort.
To proactively counter the adverse effects of this, organizations should embrace flexible work schedules, allowing employees to combine work and breaks while making their own choices on when to work and where, keeping an environment of transparency and collaborative understanding with everybody cognizant of the real priorities and deadlines, in addition to offering mental well-being support through employee assistance programs or applications aimed at reducing anxiety or depression.
Lastly, the opposite can be encouraged to combat open communication on interpersonal stressors such as conflicts with colleagues. This can happen through regular check-ins with managers and HR or mentors who provide mediation or counseling. Remote time tracking software such as Sling makes managing these changes easy while allowing employees to clock in from anywhere with an internet source.
5. Invest in Employee Development
Employee development may not do away with Sunday Scaries altogether, but in terms of morale boosting and the fate of your organization, it is priceless. Employees who deem their jobs meaningful will likely maintain loyalty to that organization.
Since 80% of employees experience The Sunday Scaries, as per research conducted by Ciphr-HR software provider, many different causes can trigger this anxiety-worrying about a busy week ahead, stress from managing personal commitments with professional responsibilities at the same time, or just worrying about all those uncompleted tasks from last week. Professionals at every level of their careers experience it-entry-level interns all the way up to C-level executives feel its effects.