It’s 3:30 in the afternoon and Sam Broder-Fingert feels like calling it a day. “It’s cold, it’s dark. People just want to leave,” says the 32-year-old Westchester resident. He’s the president of SpaceFoam, a company that claims to make the world’s most comfortable pillow. Most of his team works on the West Coast where the weather is warmer and it’s light longer so they don’t need as much cajoling. But here in Manhattan, by late afternoon it feels like night.
“All you want to do is get home and curl up on the sofa with Netflix and some warm soup,” says Sanam Hafeez, Psy.D., a practicing neuropsychologist who teaches at Columbia University.
“In winter our body clocks are out of whack,” adds Acacia Parks, Ph.D., chief scientist at Happify, a tech startup that delivers well-being interventions to consumers and large businesses.
Parks explains that it’s not just the lack of sunlight that’s problematic, but that the time period between Christmas and New Year’s Day casts us into a twilight zone of sorts. “During the holidays we eat at odd times, go to sleep and wake up at odd times. It’s hard, and it can take a long time to bounce back.” In late December she saw a post on Facebook asking what time was OK to start drinking. “Our rhythms are off,” she says, and, unless you actively work on it, it can take months to regain them.
Hafeez says that the third Monday of January is considered the most depressing day of the year. Known as Blue Monday, on that date, a bunch of unpleasant factors collide, including bad weather, the time that has passed since Christmas, a failure to fulfill New Year’s resolutions, low motivation and lack of impulses to take action. It’s also about now that the “credit card bills reflecting our holiday spending come in,” says Hafeez.
“It’s like a holiday hangover. ‘That was awesome, now it’s over. And then what?’?” says Broder-Fingert.
David Reischer, an attorney and CEO of LegalAdvice.com, a startup based near Penn Station, says he finds his staff in the kitchen gossiping more often than usual this time of year. “People, myself included, tend to be cranky, miserable and harder to motivate,” he says.
But that doesn’t give anyone permission to crawl under the covers and hibernate until April, say the experts. Business leaders such as Broder-Fingert and Reischer have found ways to rally their teams, despite the gloomy circumstances. And experts such as Hafeez and Parks offer sage advice to workers who want help changing their mindsets now.
Make a people resolution
While New Year’s resolutions such as going to the gym every day, getting a new job, or losing 20 pounds often fail because you’re accountable only to yourself, “people resolutions,” in which you aim to work better and in a more motivated way with colleagues, fare a better chance according to Broder-Fingert. For instance, when he worked at Anheuser- Busch, they understood that alcohol sales would be slow in the first quarter, so his team aimed to set a record selling O’Doul’s. “Group challenges motivate,” he says.
Find the good
When you’re cranky, it’s easy to criticize and decide that what your co-workers have to say is stupid. This hurts you more than it hurts them, according to Parks. Before you go into a meeting, “write down something good about everyone who is going to be there,” she says, adding that if you can get everyone else who is going to be there to do the same, “it’s even better and the meeting will be more productive.”
Make a geographic change
Although it might be a long shot, see if your boss will let you work from a different location in a sunnier climate. Selina is a company that was specifically designed for people who want to take their jobs on vacation. It offers co-working spaces, accommodations, food, beverage and wellness services in places such as Antigua, Costa Rica and Grenada.
“Who complains about their job when they can take a long lunch and go surfing?” says Yoav Gery, president of the company.
Subscribe to a happiness app
If you’re going to play games on your computer, why not pick the kind that will elevate your mood and help you become more productive? Happify.com offers gaming experiences that are scientifically geared toward improving emotional and overall health.
Break bread with your colleagues
Workers tend to order out and eat at their desks more in the winter than in the warmer months, according to experts. This can cause depression. But they don’t insist that you put on your scarf, snow boots and coat and deal with the elements when the weather’s horrendous. Samantha Morrison, a health and wellness expert at Glacier Wellness in Woodmere, NY, recommends scheduling regular potluck lunches with your favorite co-workers.
“It’s as simple as coordinating your lunch breaks and planning who brings what type of dish that week,” she says. In addition to facilitating a “healthier and more festive diet, this can add some much-needed camaraderie to help you combat a winter slump,” she says.
Set smaller, more reasonable goals
If your objective is to be promoted in the next two months, “you’re probably setting yourself up for failure,” says Hafeez. But you can start working toward that goal by finding out what is important to your boss and reviewing your smaller accomplishments with her or him on a regular basis. “That way they’ll be aware of your progress,” she says.