You don’t get through January by pushing harder 👉 you get through it by accepting that, after the festive season, people need a short “come-down” from time off. The alarm goes off, it’s still dark outside, and the last thing anyone wants is to swap lie-ins and Christmas dinners for deadlines and early starts. For a lot of teams, that first week back in the new year feels like a cold shower.
As an employer, manager, or planner, this is the moment where a normal January dip can start to look like something bigger; lower energy, more irritability, more no-shows, and less focus. You might even start hearing (or noticing) doubts creeping in: “Is this still the right job for me?” Before anyone makes a dramatic call ( like polishing up their LinkedIn profile ) it’s worth taking a breath and looking at what’s actually going on.
In this blog, we’ll break down what “post-holiday blues” really is, how it differs from burnout, and what you can do in practical terms (from smarter rota planning to realistic workload pacing) so your people can get back into rhythm without dread (and ideally, without that Sunday-night stomach ache).
Why does January feel so hard? (It’s science)
It’s not a mindset problem, it’s biology. In December, your brain gets a steady stream of feel-good triggers: good food, presents, festive lights, and quality time with friends or family. All of that nudges dopamine upwards, often to a seasonal high. Then January arrives and the stimulation drops off a cliff. You go from a month of mini “highs” to a grey Monday in the office (or a full shift on the rota), and that sudden dopamine dip can genuinely feel like withdrawal.
On top of that, people’s body clocks are out of sync. During the holidays, most of us ignore the alarm and run on our own rhythm. Come January, it’s straight back into a tight schedule. That contrast (total freedom versus structured working hours) costs the brain a lot of energy to process. So when your team looks flat or sluggish, it’s not laziness. It’s recovery from a pretty intense reset.
First aid for the January restart (your survival guide)
The biggest trap is thinking everyone should be back to peak performance on 2 January. That’s asking for trouble. If you’re a top athlete, you don’t start a match cold without a warm-up, so why expect that of your team at work? Give people a soft landing, so the first week back doesn’t immediately turn into “I need another holiday”.
Start simple and keep the bar realistic. As an employer or planner, help create breathing room: keep the first day or two light, protect focus time, and avoid stacking the rota with high-pressure shifts straight away. If your team is office-based, consider encouraging a slower inbox ramp-up (for example: no expectation of instant replies). Don’t schedule critical meetings or hard deadlines in the first two days. Start with lower-cognitive-load tasks 👉 admin tidy-ups, planning, clearing backlogs, updating calendars. Ticking off quick wins gives the brain that reassuring sense of control and progress.
| ❌ Don’t do this in week 1 | ✅ Do this in week 1 |
|---|---|
| 📅 Fill the diary immediately with meetings | 🧘♀️ Reserve blocks for “focus time” |
| 🧠 Start with the hardest project | ⚡ Start with small jobs (quick wins) |
| ⏰ Work overtime to “catch up” | 🌿 Finish on time and prioritise rest |
| 😤 Moan with colleagues who’ve just come back too | 🥗 Have lunch together and swap holiday stories |
The diagnosis: is it Blue Monday or burnout?
And then there’s Blue Monday; often said to be the third Monday in January, when grey weather and abandoned New Year’s resolutions supposedly hit morale the hardest. But is it really just that one Monday, or is something else going on? If that “ugh” feeling hangs around for weeks, it’s time to take a proper look at what’s behind it. The difference between a temporary dip and a serious problem usually comes down to duration.
From “having to” to motivation (job crafting)
When people feel unhappy at work, they often jump straight to job hunting. But in many cases, you can make someone’s current role significantly more enjoyable without changing employers. That approach is called job crafting. Instead of waiting for a manager to hand out more interesting projects, the employee (with the manager’s support) reshapes parts of the role: swapping, adjusting, or redesigning tasks so the work fits better.
For employers and managers, the practical starting point is simple: look critically at the task mix. Which activities energise someone, and which ones drain them? Sometimes a small change (like swapping a “time-sink” task with a colleague who actually enjoys it) can lift motivation fast and reduce burnout risk across the team.
January is a great month to have that conversation with your people. Not as a salary negotiation, but as a “how do we make this role sustainable and satisfying?” discussion. It helps massively if you can bring facts to the table. For example, if you can see exactly how many hours are being spent on specific tasks (or where time is disappearing into admin), you can make smarter decisions about workload, priorities, and support. That way, you can show that someone is spending too much time on low-value administration, and move that time back towards higher-impact work like customers, problem-solving, or creative tasks. In most teams, that’s a win for everyone.
Conclusion: breathe in, breathe out
Don’t let the “new year, new you” pressure get under your skin. January has a way of pretending everyone should return as a fully upgraded version of themselves; when in reality, most people are still the same human who’s just spent two weeks living in joggers. And that’s completely fine.
For employers and managers, the smarter move is not to punish January with impossible targets, but to treat it as a useful check-in month. Is everyone still in the right role? Are there friction points you can remove to lift motivation; for example by automating low-value admin, improving planning, or rebalancing workloads? And if something truly isn’t working, is it time to adjust the role, the team set-up, or expectations?
Whatever the outcome, aim for a conscious decision; not a panic reaction to a winter slump. Give your people (and yourself) time to get moving again. Peak performance tends to show up in February.
