Eighty
per cent of office workers claim the lack of natural light during December and
January leads to the ‘winter blues’ and has a direct impact on their work
performance.
A
survey of 1,000 office workers by Office Angels shows that the majority of
office workers suffer from the milder symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD) during autumn and winter.
Nearly
half of those questioned (48 per cent) say that as a result, they feel sluggish
and unmotivated and more than three-quarters (77 per cent) claim January is the
worst month.
Nearly
a third (30 per cent) say they work fewer hours in the winter as the shorter
daylight hours are less conducive to staying late.
However,
54 per cent claim that teamwork benefits in the winter months because office
workers prefer face-to-face communication rather than the usual reliance on
e-mail. It seems that office workers find that human interaction helps to
offset the impact of SAD.
And,
94 per cent claim the Christmas party season encourages more communication
between senior and junior employees.
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Paul
Jacobs, UK operations director of Office Angels said: "With the cold
weather, the reduced daylight hours and the pressures of Christmas at home and
at work, it is inevitable that we all suffer from the ‘winter blues’ to some
degree. There are numerous steps which employers can take to reduce the
symptoms and encourage a happier, more cheerful office atmosphere."
