Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Work Burn Out In January

Can it be possible, it’s only January, and you feel you have work burnout already.

You’ve only just had a Christmas break, you’ve barely got back into the flow of work, but you feel like you could sleep for a month. You could understand it if you didn’t like your job but you love what you do, so why is it so hard to sum up the energy to get dressed in the mornings?

It’s ok you’re not alone, the month January is well known for being a hard month, lots of people experience burnout symptoms.

Here are a few reasons why:

Blue Monday

January is the month with the most depressing day of the year, called Blue Monday.

Sky Travel first coined the name Blue Monday back in 2005 for an advertising campaign but it’s now been firmly etched into our subconscious and when January comes we are programmed to feel down about it, the power of marketing!

Lack of sunlight

The January dark mornings make it hard for even the most motivated person to jump out of bed and embrace the working day. It feels more natural to stay curled up in bed until sunlight appears but you know if you did that you’d be late for work. The lack of sunlight messes with the human body’s internal clock which can make you feel burned out.

Too cold

Just like the dark morning make it hard to get motivated so does the cold. January can be freezing and knowing that even before you start your working day, you’re going to have to wrap up in twenty layers of clothes, de-ice the car and grit the driveway can be hard going, even worse if you have to bike to work!

Comfort eating

When it’s dark and cold, eating for comfort is what we do. The only thing with comfort eating is that it pads us out with an extra layer and remember we’re wearing twenty layers already, so we start to feel heavy and sluggish. Feeling like a super blob is only going to contribute to the feeling of burn out, bones will ache, and exhaustion will set in after one flight of stairs.

If you think you might be suffering from work, burnout in January then the good news it should go as we head towards spring.

Some things you can do to help you through January could be:

Book a holiday

If you have the money after Christmas, then get away during January and go somewhere warm and sunny.

Get a SAD light box

SAD stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder and many people suffer from it without realising. A SAD light box can help people through the winter blues by producing an artificial sunlight to make the gloomy days bright again.

Walk

Not a morning walk or an evening walk but one in the middle of the day! There’s been research into this and apparently a one hour walk in the middle of the day has uplifting benefits and can help you cope with the feeling of work burnout.

The good news is it won't last ..spring is just around the corner!

JOIN Jobhop and spread the word.

Julie Bishop Jobhop

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