Member Article

Blue January is the Most Depressing Month for Workers

A lack of motivation post-Christmas, mixed in with cold mornings and illness can lead to January being a miserable time for workers. Often termed Blue January, or the January Blues, this time of the year requires businesses to be on their A game to ensure employees are kept motivated and engaged. Last year it was reported that a staggering six in ten Londoners searched for a new job in January. If businesses don’t act quickly, they will be facing a similar crisis this year.

With recent Appirio research having revealed that only 26 percent of companies have formal programmes in place that focus on the Worker Experience, implementing a system to keep the motivation of your workers monitored and improved is a good place to start. Workers demand greater recognition from their employers and creating a system which rewards loyalty and actively monitors and improves the experience of going to work will be met with gratitude. Business should also look to create a sense of team unity and company identity to make work feel more than just a place you go to earn money.

With a host of technology now available to the workforce which boosts productivity and remote working, business should also look to implement collaborative technologies such as G Suite applications to allow those workers who need to work flexibly the option to do so. Easing people back into the office can be a fantastic way to ensure a more motivated and productive team feeling.

If companies don’t pre-empt and address Blue January their businesses will quickly suffer. With 70 percent of business leaders believing that not improving the Worker Experience would negatively affect their ability to attract and retain the best talent, there is clear support from within the business. However, companies must therefore act now to ensure they get through the cold and dark month of January productively.

Justin Anderson, GM EMEA, Appirio

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Appirio .