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Blue Monday BBC Interview Blog

Writer's picture: Drs Schuster & OxleyDrs Schuster & Oxley


Yes, that’s the less talented half of the Drs Schuster & Oxley writing collaboration talking to Sally Bundock of BBC News.


After navigating the obvious and understandable disappointment that Dr Schuster was not appearing, we discussed Blue Monday, why it seems to resonate with people, and what we can do about it.


Myth or reality – sky travel marketing ploy 


It is fascinating how Blue Monday has caught on. Admittedly it seems to have missed the USA. But in the UK in particular, the idea that 3rd Monday in January is the saddest day of the year seems to have traction.

When you look into the details, the history, you quickly find there is no substance to it. In 2005, a UK travel agent, Sky Travel, was trying to find a clever way to sell holidays. They found Cliff Arnalla psychologist ex of Cardiff University who helped them draft a superficially impressive looking formula:


(An aside on formulas… we are big fans. In fact, when you read A Groundhog Career you will see we too have an affection for meaningless formulas that look impressive but are actually nonsense).


So, Cliff’s formula essentially said; Mondays are the saddest day of week, January is saddest month of year, and the 3rd week of January is when most people have lost their religion on new year resolutions. So, this is when they really need to spend some money on buying a summer vacation!


…But it’s becoming an Urban Myth


You almost certainly read, heard, or saw something on Monday the 19th referring to Blue Monday. In many instances there is no qualification, no caveat that it is really just… well… Monday. In many cases it’s boldly advertised as ‘the saddest day of the year.’


Why is that?


While there are the superficial things. The cultural references and adages. Monday blues, Bangles - Manic Mondays, Office Space- Bad Case of the Mondays. Most sick leaves start on Monday, and obviously the biggest market crash Black Monday happened … on a Monday October 19, 1987 (the largest percentage drop in the Dow Jones history ever).


And that says nothing of the tradition of dry January’s. The lack of alcohol may be a significant factor.

 

Substance – digging a bit deeper


We think the reason why Blue Monday resonates is that it pierces our normal stoic facades. We all go through our work routines for much of the year with our heads down, unquestioningly fighting for recognition, pay raises, promotions, and competing with those around us.


It's a dog-eat-dog world. And we are programed from a young age to understand ‘you get what you deserve’ ‘work is something to take advantage of’ and the only way we measure success is by how much we make and how fast we do it.


Blue Monday forces us to ask ourselves “Why?” “What’s this all for?” “Am I fulfilled?” “What else could I being with my life?”


And what if those prompts to self-examination and self-awareness don’t have great answers?


NOT - Seasonal Affective Disorder but SUFFERING OCCUPATIONAL DYSTOPIA (we like the SOD acronym).


We accept the SAD premise. The idea that our outlook on life is impacted negatively by the shorter days in winter. Well, what if there is also an underlying issue with how we view work?


Unlike Blue Monday, we have some facts to back this up:


  • Gallup’s annual survey shows 62% find no meaning in our work and a staggering 20% say it makes us miserable

  • CIPD in 2023 found as many as 90% of UK workforce is ‘disengaged’

  • Pew Research in the USA found that we are roughly split 51% to 49% in terms of whether we see work as a necessary evil.

 

The concepts of Quiet Quitting and Boreout, along with the so-called Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022 are rooted in a deep and growing disillusionment with work.


Is there an alternative?

 

In our interview, Sally Bundock asked the critical question. “But doing work we don’t particularly enjoy, there is nothing unusual about that. Isn’t work simply a necessity, something that we shouldn’t have any expectations of other than providing us a fair wage?”

 

And this is the question isn’t it.

 

What should we expect from work?  Should we remain anchored in this institutionalized mindset. A legacy of the Protestant Work ethic. Of the labor movement. Of progressive class struggles where the only currency of meaning is financial.

 

But what if you can have both?


Sally rather beautifully set up the premise for A Groundhog Career. Are we destined to suffer at work forever. Is sacrifice a price we must pay?

There is evidence that some people (go back to the stats earlier) do find work fulfilling. The do find meaning. They are engaged.


When we set out to write our latest book it was the goal of exploring why some people enjoy work. How it gives them meaning. Fuels them. Helps them retain vitality long into old age. We had a suspicion it wasn’t about what we have dubbed the ‘bean bag and ping pong’ efforts of companies. The idea that enjoyment at work can be facilitated by ‘fun’ workplaces. But, instead, it was about how we as individuals frame the work we do.


What did we find?


The reality is that Blue Mondays are a choice. The details are complicated, and human behavior is sometimes hard to change. However, the truth is as much as people often hate their careers, they also find comfort in the predictable, the passive and inactive, the ‘addictive quality of monthly pay checks.’ We may claim to want autonomy, but it scares us, and it’s easier to blame others than take responsibility for our own choices. Suffering elevated to a virtue, rather than selecting a joyful life. 


What’s the SECRET to breaking free?


Breaking free is easy once we have made the conscious choice that freedom and self-determination is what we

 

really want. Most of us fear change – people have a high tolerance for accepting Sh*t but little appreciation for the good stuff.

Breaking free as a few components. We are capable of them all. When you boil it all down its about: 

 

  • Self-determination… pursuing a career on your own terms – make a choice to be conscious about what you are doing and why.

  • Reversing polarity of timeframe: microscope to telescope: balance the short-term necessities with being intentional where (who) you want to be in the long term.

  • Adventure – open-up to possibilities and experimentation… take some risk… do something new.

  • Joy – Everyone has an aspect of joy at work… amplify it.

  • Purpose/Cause – ultimately this is the tide that floats all boats… find your compelling answer to ‘what’s this all for?’



You can read more about Drs Schuster & Oxley BBC interview here. There is a link to the interview (viewable in the UK only).

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