Many people experience a dip in their mood at this time of year, and the third Monday of the month is now widely known as ‘Blue Monday’.
At Clarity Environmental, we are determined to banish the winter blues and are doing something a little different this year to help our teams get through the post-Christmas slump feeling happy and healthy.
Blue Monday was a term coined by a psychologist in 2005 for a holiday company. The date came from a calculation that involved a variety of factors, including the number of days since payday, current weather conditions and daylight hours. The term has stuck ever since and whilst it was not derived from any in-depth research, with sound scientific evidence supporting the idea that the season can affect our moods, there is a serious side to it.
Mental health charity, Mind, believes that one in six workers is currently dealing with mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. With January being the time that many people find the hardest, we are committed to helping our teams take positive action to beat Blue Monday and support their mental and physical wellbeing throughout the year.
Kicking off our ‘banish blue Monday’ week, the Clarity teams are taking part in personal training sessions, ending the week with a yoga class. With an abundance of evidence linking physical exercise to good mental health, these training sessions are helping our teams to get out and about and keep healthy. And with our offices based on the picturesque South Downs we couldn’t be better placed.
Ensuring we look after our minds as well as our bodies, we are also running meditation training for our staff this week. Popular amongst many high-profile business leaders and sports personalities, Transcendental Meditation is a simple exercise that enables your mind and body to access a special quality of rest, helping to reduce stress, improve focus and clarity of mind, and strengthen immunity. After just one week, we are already receiving reports of some very positive results.
With a strong link between doing something good for others and a feeling of personal wellbeing, doing our bit for local and national causes never fails to lift our spirits in the Clarity office. We have supported many local and national charities since our business began, and are proud to fund Restored Earth, a UK charity that has a mission to decontaminate land and return it to nature. Committed to doing even more for charity in 2018, this week we launched our new internal charity donation committee who will decide where our funds are spent each quarter.
We are inviting staff and customers to nominate a charity that means something to them, which we will then put forward to our committee. We are delighted to have chosen our charities for the first quarter of 2018 and look forward to sharing the details with you soon.
David Adams, Managing Director of Clarity Environmental, said:
“We understand that many people find it hard to achieve a good work-life balance In today’s society, and too frequently hear that people feel stressed. This year, I wanted to do something that would positively support and help manage the physical and mental wellbeing of our staff.
“We believe a healthy mind creates a healthy workplace, which leads to more productivity and, most importantly, happier staff and happier customers. Whilst Blue Monday has been used as a marketing gimmick, there is no doubt that this time of year can be a struggle for some.
“We are committed to helping our staff take positive action to look after their mental and physical health, now and throughout the year. So whilst it may be dark and cold outside, and the excitement of Christmas is long gone, our team is starting 2018 with happy, healthy minds and bodies, and looking forward to a productive year ahead.”
