- Over 17m working days were lost to stress, depression or anxiety in the last year; the highest record so far
- ‘Sunday anxiety’ should be taken more seriously than just a passive feeling, says expert
- Mental health expert Brenig Moore warns that Sunday dread could be more than just being ‘sad that the weekend has ended.’
‘Sunday dread’ or ‘Sunday anxiety’ is a creeping unease that tightens as the evening draws in and makes a proper night’s sleep feel out of reach for those who work Monday mornings.
Millions of UK workers know this feeling, and according to the latest HSE stats, over 17 million days were lost last year due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety.
Brenig Moore, occupational health and safety expert from HSE training provider, Astutis, says it deserves far more serious attention.
“Sunday dread isn’t just a character flaw, and it’s not just the cost that comes with having a Monday to Friday job. It’s a signal that you don’t feel comfortable about your current working situation, and when that signal is ignored and nothing is getting done about it, there can be real consequences.”
Where general anxiety may be diffuse and hard to attribute, Sunday dread has a specific trigger: the return to a working environment that is, in some way, misaligned with a person’s needs, values, or capacity, and that misalignment can take many forms.”
However, in some instances, it may be post-weekend blues, knowing that your weekend with your friends and family is coming to an end, but employees need to know when something deeper is wrong.
Brenig says:
“Ask yourself when this Sunday dread started, and what specifically it centres on and whether this is getting increasingly worse every week. Sometimes, pre-week nerves can be normal, especially if there’s a big challenge ahead of you, but if it’s persistent dread that can contribute to sleepless nights, then something in your working life needs to change.”
Brenig also discusses how you can go into your Monday with a better headspace. He says:
“First, you want to ensure that you separate your Sunday and Monday as firmly as you possibly can. This means setting boundaries around work communications, so no checking emails or Slack on the weekend. If Monday is creeping into your Sunday, then your Sunday isn’t really a rest.
Shift your focus from what awaits to what is actually achievable, and end your Fridays with three things to get done on Monday so that your brain can have something concrete to focus on rather than open-ended dread of the unknown. As small as it sounds, it will make a big difference.”
Ultimately, Brenig’s message is absolutely key for all those who start work on a Monday and typically think about their working week on a Sunday:
“Sunday dread is not something to push through and normalize. It is something to listen to. The workers who learn to do that, and the employers who create the conditions that make it safe to do so, are the ones who build something genuinely sustainable.”