Protecting your team against the winter blues

The day are darker, shorter, and for many of your team, winter can be a difficult time of the year. Keeping people motivated during the colder months can be a real challenge, but by offering the right guidance and support, you can turn winter into a winner.

What exactly are the winter blues?

‘Winter blues’ describes the sadness and fatigue that many people experience during the colder months of the year, with common symptoms including lack of motivation, trouble sleeping, and generally feeling down. In more severe cases, this is called seasonal effective disorder (SAD), and is reported to affect roughly two million people in the UK, and more than six times this figure across northern Europe.

There are several common ways the winter blues may manifest in the workplace: frequent absences, low energy or motivation, and irritability. Managers should look out for these signs, be approachable, and give their team the support they need during the winter months. Here are a few tried-and-tested strategies to consider:

See the light

While SAD isn’t fully understood by experts, it’s believed that one of the main contributing factors is a lack of light. As well as giving your team the time to get outdoors during the day, you might consider booking meetings rooms with windows. If that’s not possible, using full-spectrum lights in office spaces may help simulate the effect of sunlight.

The ideal is to not have days that are bookended by darkness; something easily done when locked into the routine of commuting and office-based work.

Get your team active

It’s tempting to stow yourself away in the office when the weather is less appealing, but regular exercise is vital for good health. This is true anytime of the year, yet many choose to withdraw themselves from physical activity when the days are colder and darker.

Before you book your team in for any ultramarathons, effective exercise could be as simple as a 30-minute walk during lunchtime, perhaps as part of a regular walking group. And if your organisation has any membership deals with gyms or exercises classes, be sure to make your team aware.

Boost your team’s mood with food

Fuelling yourself with nutritious foods – such as fresh fruit, vegetables, and those high in vitamin D – is one of the best ways to stave off the winter blues and live an altogether healthier lifestyle. Although you can’t control what your team chooses to eat, you can always promote nutritious foods in office spaces and breakrooms, or even provide educational resources on healthy eating choices.

Maintain flexible working options

No matter how busy you are during the winter period, make sure your team is able to work flexibly where possible. By giving people more freedom over their working patterns – and avoiding proximity bias – they’ll have greater opportunity to make healthier decisions and follow some of the suggestions already mentioned. And what’s more, flexible working options don’t have to come at the cost of efficiency. A study by Gartner suggests that flexible working hours may improve productivity, while our UK Salary & Recruiting Trend 2023 guide reveals it could aid employee retention.

The days may be darker, but it’s important to not lose sight of the bigger picture. Yes, work is important, but don’t let it overshadow your team’s wider interests and duties in life. As well as facilitating a healthy work/life balance, you should encourage your team to continue socialising and doing the activities that they enjoy.

Take on winter together

Different people will exhibit their own winter blues symptoms, but they don’t have to be faced alone. Rally your team with regular communication, recognise and reward their accomplishments, and check in on individuals. If you sense there is a lull in your team’s energy, you could organise lunches or schedule team training for a change of scenery, and a chance to regroup and re-energise.

And why not consider raising money for a charity of your team’s choice? Banding together towards a charitable cause is a great way to foster camaraderie and a sense of purpose. From planting trees to organising walkathons, your team will appreciate the opportunity to be part of something fulfilling – not to mention away from the desk.

It’s important to understand what you are responsible for; as a manager, you can’t be expected to be there for your team 24/7. By employing some of the above strategies though, you can proactively help protect your people during the winter months, arming them with the culture, time and support they need.

To help look after your team this winter and beyond, check out our Thrive online training platform, offering bespoke wellbeing support, upskilling opportunities, and much more.