How to make a Monday workplace more vibrant

Monday’s are commonly considered the worst day of the week. This has sprung from a global trend of negativity towards the first day of work after the weekend. Social media has influenced this with posts degrading the day with gloomy words and often pictures the represent sadness. Poor old Monday is never going to disappear, so it’s about time we find ways to suck it up and get through them. I’d like to offer some approaches that not only get you through the day, but can also put a smile on your face.

Team meeting

Having a meeting every Monday is a good way to catch up with everybody. It’s nice to be able to sit around and reflect on what everybody got up to on the weekend. It allows you to socialise rather than being thrown straight into the deep end with work. It’s also a chance to speak about how you’re all going to tackle the week ahead and to discuss plans and ideas.

Coffee shout

Coffee is an absolute yes for me on a Monday. Whether you chose to take turns buying them or simply make them at work everybody would appreciate a fresh cuppa on those tiresome mornings.

Music

If you’re an office that doesn’t usually play music for background noise I suggest you giving this a go. Spotify offer a great playlist called “morning motivation” It’s a random selection of songs aimed to make you feel happy and enthused for the morning. Dead silence is a killer for our moods, music is the perfect approach to make you feel relaxed and stress free. If you haven’t got a speaker around consider using headphones. Crank up the volume and play the happiest songs you can find.

Team bonding games

Sometimes we walk in to work on a Monday and suddenly we all feel like strangers. After all we spend 40 hours a week together, it’s almost weird to spend the last 48hours apart. Try doing a couple of quick team games together to get the smiles racing. One game you could try is the “two truths and a lie” – a person tells 3 stories and the rest of you have to guess which two are true and which is a lie. You’ll find the innocent ones will exceed in this activity.

Snacks

Food, glorious food. Food is guaranteed to lift your mood. It could be a packet of biscuits or a bunch of carrot sticks, eating is something we are all capable of doing while we work. I mean even men can multi task when it comes to food! It’s something to look forward to and it keeps our mind off the fact it’s Monday. Food really does solve everything.

Finally, let’s put stereotypes to an end. Mondays will never get any better if everybody keeps bagging on them. Putting a positive spin on a Monday will actually change your attitude towards it. Rather than “the first day of work” It’s the first day of a brand new week that you’re lucky enough to be a part of.