How to banish the January blues
Congratulations, you’ve officially (almost) completed your first week back at work of 2025! Plus, we’re already a third of the way through the month-horray!
January can be a great month for some, signalling a fresh start, fresh goals, new mindset ready to take on the new year. But for a lot of us, it can be a very difficult time to navigate. You get the back-to-work scaries, everything has fired up just as quickly as it wound down before Christmas, and it can seem like January is never going to end.
With suicides in the construction industry rising, its more important than ever that we all look out for each other and protect our mental health as much as we can. We’ve put together some helpful tips to help you banish the January blues…
Skip the diet! (or take smaller steps)
A lot of us put huge pressure on getting fit or making big lifestyle changes in January to recover from the holiday period, and it can make you miserable. Instead of starting a drastic diet or an intense fitness regime, take smaller steps towards your health goals such as:
- Doing an extra exercise session a week, rather than committing to 3 extra sessions
- Cut out one or two foods at a time, rather than completely overhauling your diet. You’re allowed to get some joy from food even if it’s January!
Socialise-even if its at home
After the busy holiday period, its very easy to shut ourselves off from everyone and become insulated in January, but this can often be detrimental to our mental health. Gather your friends and family, host the games night you never got around to in December and have a free night in, that can feel like a night out! Just because its January, doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the things you love.
Make time for your colleagues
As we head back to work, everything can easily get on top of you. The emails are mounting, the meeting requests are coming in thick and fast, and the phone doesn’t stop ringing. You start to skip lunch breaks, and you realise the last time you had a decent conversation with your colleagues that wasn’t “hi, you okay? Let’s start the meeting” was over two weeks ago! Sound familiar?
Don’t forget to make time for your colleagues and downtime at work. Its far more beneficial than you think for your mental health! If you work from home, set up a specific meeting where you sit for 20 minutes and have a coffee and a chat with your team. If you’re on site, schedule a tea break so everyone has some downtime, and the subject of work is off the table! Your work will be there when you get back, and the boost it’ll give your mood will be incredible.
Finally, check-in with your colleagues and friends. Ask if they’re okay twice-the first time you’ll get their standard response, and the second time you should get the real response. You don’t know how much something as simple as asking twice can help someone take a load off.
If you or anyone else you know is struggling with mental health, here are some useful resources below:
Mind https://www.mind.org.uk/need-urgent-help/using-this-tool/
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) https://www.thecalmzone.net/suicide-prevention-helpline
Saint-Gobain colleagues can contact the free Colleague Support Helpline on 0800 030 5182