Bounce back from Blue Monday: Avoiding the cost of employee absence

On 19 January, businesses face Blue Monday – widely tagged as the most depressing day of the year. While there’s no genuine science behind the new-year low point, the first months of 2026 could be a struggle for your staff. Winter bugs, seasonal sluggishness, and post-holiday debt take a heavy toll on worker wellbeing – making January and February peak time for employee absence. 

According to 2025 research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel (CIPD), sick days are on the rise. The CIPD’s YouGov survey of 1,100 HR professionals revealed that the average UK worker took 9.4 days of sickness absence in the past year – a record high and a 62% leap on pre-pandemic levels. 

Mental health is a core driver. The Health and Safety Executive’s annual statistics for 2024/25 show stress, depression, and anxiety as the leading causes of workplace ill health, affecting 964,000 staff and following an upward trend from previous reports. The knock-on effects to morale, productivity, and profit can be significant, with poor emotional health costing UK businesses £51 billion annually (Deloitte, 2024). 

So how do you boost long-term engagement through the shortest days of the year? It begins with effective absence management and enlightened staff support. 

Ask the tough questions. Take an objective look at how you manage sickness within your organisation. Do workers feel guilty for taking time off? Do they pull sickies for personal reasons? Are employees expected to attend work when they’re poorly? Are those left holding the fort given the right level of support? It can be challenging to align priorities, but creating a caring, motivational, and collaborative culture can encourage team members to take the time they need, without taking advantage.

Keep track of time off. If you haven’t already, implement policies and tech tools that provide a clear picture of companywide absence. Analysing absence trends allows you to address issues with targeted management strategies – from return-to-work interviews and compassionate leave policies (so staff don’t feel pressured to call in sick) to disciplinary procedures for excessive absence. 

Empower line managers. Line managers need to be experts in your company’s attendance policies and procedures – and know who to ask if they’re unsure. Provide training to help leaders confidently manage absence within their teams, knowing when to grant flexibility, offer support, and take action on emerging concerns. 

Share the workload. Regular meetings, consistent communication, and solid teamwork help ensure that productivity doesn’t grind to a halt when a colleague calls in sick. Share skills, jobs, and responsibilities among co-workers, so tasks can continue even when you’re an employee down. 

Create a safe working environment. In addition to preventing on-the-job accidents, a secure, compliant workplace is an excellent motivator, proving that you care about your team’s safety and wellbeing. First, concentrate on getting the fundamentals right –meeting legal requirements across staff welfare, site safety, working practices, and other compliance essentials – and follow up with extras that champion good mental and physical health. Promoting existing policies is a low-cost starting point, launching internal safety and wellbeing campaigns aimed at key issues – from driver seatbelt use and regular equipment checks to encouraging use of annual leave. 

Prevent absence before it hits. Occupational health helps you head off the disruption of long-term sick leave, boosting wellbeing and reducing absence costs through health surveillance, workplace risk management, and employee support. Treating conditions from occupational asthma and musculoskeletal disorders to burnout and depression, occupational health services mitigate the effects of workplace illness and injuries and deliver coordinated early interventions to prevent them entirely. 

Set new challenges. Training gives your team a fresh focus – and the start of the year is the ideal time to plan new development pathways. Keep staff engaged with tailored training courses that expand their skillsets, strengthen safety knowledge, and provide valuable mental health insights. Speak to your Opus consultant to create a custom learning programme to support your safety and staff development goals. 

Curb employee absence with Opus Safety 

Opus Safety helps you tackle absence from all sides. We combine proven health and safety, occupational health, training, HR, and tech solutions to enhance attendance rates, drive performance, and streamline processes across your business. 

To cut days lost to staff sickness and mental health concerns, speak to an Opus expert today. Reach out on 0330 043 4015 or email hello@opus-safety.co.uk.