Vibe Check Practice

In conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Day this month, we’re highlighting the importance of mental health in the workplace. This year’s theme focuses on fostering healthier, more supportive environments where employees can thrive both professionally and personally.

Have you ever felt this way? The dread of going to work and Monday blues finding you not on Monday but on Sunday itself? This is actually called “Sunday scaries” – which is having a heavy sense of anxiety and dread that sets in on Sunday afternoon or evening as you look toward the workweek ahead.

Why are you feeling this way?

Although there hasn’t been any scientific research done on Sunday scaries, an informal survey done in 2018 on linkedin has found that this feeling is very common. 80% of the 1017 adults surveyed, reported that they experience sunday night anxiety. This also shows that it is normal if you are also feeling this. It is normal.

So why are you feeling this way? There are various causes which might include:

1. Having a weekly check-in with a supervisor
2. Having to face a demanding colleague at work
3. Meetings on Mondays

It is important to find out the cause as it would help us to manage our feelings better.

Apart from the usual work responsibilities, many of us also has other responsibilities in life such as:

• Preparing meals and eating
• Making time for hobbies
• Socializing
• Exercising
• Running errands

To top off work, we also have personal life responsibilities to deal with and sometimes, adding everything together can be really overwhelming.

Strategies to manage these feelings

When anxiety centers around a tough project you are working on at work, this anxious feeling would most likely linger till the problem is solved. So while working on the project, work-life balance is essential to keep the anxiety in check.

To check out our worries, we could write down our worries, for instance, spend 15min to write out a to-do list and plan out what you need to do for the day. If there is an overwhelming amount of things you need to do, categorize what you need to do into these 3 categories:

1. Things you have to do
2. Things that can wait
3. Things people can help you with (write down the names of the people who can help)

Everytime the anxiety pops back up, remind yourself you’ve done everything you can and tell yourself you don’t have to do everything by yourself, turn to the people on the list.

Practice Self-Love/ Self-Compassion

Ever resented yourself for just lazing around the house the whole day, coiled up on the couch with a plate of nachos and binging on a netflix series the whole day? Well, I did. More often than we realize, we tend to lecture ourselves for our lack of productivity and we tend to cram our chores in a day and end up feeling all cranky as we did not get much enjoyment over the weekends.

The next time you feel this way, tell yourself, ignore what you didn’t finish but focus on what you did do. You had me time. You had a good sleep. You caught up on your shows. You also did a few chores. You did good!

Beating yourself for not being productive will only worsen the Sunday anxiety, so be kind to yourself by acknowledging that you did your best!

Plan your Sundays

• Do the worse chores first
• Dedicate Sundays to relaxing activities
• Treat yourself
• Log off – ignore work related messages/ emails

Consider planning less demanding tasks on Monday, to reduce the stress and also to feel more confident and productive.

However, if you’re still feeling Sunday dread, use this as a signal that something about your job life needs to change.

Mental Health Day from Work

After trying the strategies above, it is still possible that you might be feeling the dread and anxiety for work. Know that everyone has a threshold of what they can handle for stress. Some people can thrive under stress but others might need frequent breaks or adjustments to handle it.

You are in need of a mental health day when:

• You are falling sick frequently
• Every work day is a “bad day”
• You feel that your work is unappreciated
• You don’t care about your work quality
• You are constantly feeling exhausted

A mentally healthy workplace benefits not only individuals but also the organization as a whole by reducing stress, improving productivity, and fostering collaboration. Not all companies provide mental health leave, so if your company have it, good for you! But what if your company doesn’t have it? Fret not, most GPs do understand the need for a mental health day and would issue a medical leave for a day or two so you could recharge and reset. Otherwise, you could use your vacation leave for it too. It is not necessary for you to tell your boss that it’s a mental health day, so enjoy your day off without guilt.

The whole idea of a mental health day is to relax. Sometimes the body and mind just need to relax and rest. Have a laid-back day of doing a whole lot of nothing if that’s what you need.

Let’s take this opportunity to prioritize mental well-being at work and support each other in creating a balanced, mindful work culture.

Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your mind, your body, your spirit. Then get back to work.

Ralph Manston

Corlissa Seah, Counsellor & Founder of Vibe Check Practice
Providing online therapy to support mental health and well-being

Book an appointment with us using this link!