Work can be stressful for many people, but not all work stress is during work time, sometimes it spills over into personal time. A phenomenon known as ‘Sunday scaries’ is anxiety the day before returning to work. Currys carried out research to find out what the most common reasons were that over half of employees get the ‘Sunday Scaries’.
The study by Currys found that over half of employees get the ‘Sunday Scaries’. Below are the top reasons for pre-work dread:
TOP 12 “SUNDAY SCARIES” reasons
Rank |
Work related stressor | % of those who chose it |
1 | Boss wants to talk | 35% |
2 | Overdue deadlines | 27% |
3 | Going into the office | 24% |
4 | Email mistakes | 22% |
5 | Forced fun with colleagues | 21% |
6 | Office small talk | 17% |
7 | Lunchtime meetings | 17% |
8 | Imposter syndrome | 16% |
9 | Colleague(s) oversharing | 16% |
10 | Background noise | 14% |
11 | Being told “You’re on mute!” during a meeting | 12% |
12 | Teams/Slack call sound | 11% |
Navit Schechter, an experienced CBT therapist and mental health writer who specialises in work-based issues and anxiety disorders, advised: “If you dread the thought of work on a Sunday because your role doesn’t fulfil you, you don’t have enough support, there are unclear expectations on you, you’re working with difficult personalities, you feel overwhelmed with everything you’re expected to do or similar then being honest with yourself about what the problem is and seeking to find a solution will help you in the long-run.”
“If you’re being given too much work or not enough support, speak to your manager. If the role doesn’t fulfil you or you think you’d do better in another team, look for another job. Finding a role that fulfils you and that you’re passionate about, or a team you enjoy working with can make the thought of another week at work much easier to bear.”
On the Currys website they have a special feature where you can get more tips from Navit to help with your dread of work. You can visit it here
Now you know the reasons why over half of employees get the ‘Sunday Scaries’, try using the tips provided to reduce your work dread, or if it’s too much, contact us and we will help you find a job that you’ll want to get up for on a Monday.
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