Surveys continue to show alarming levels of workplace stress. Employees are burned out on the job, losing sleep, developing illnesses, having relationship difficulties, performing at lower levels, and have lower well-being. A survey conducted by Robert Half found that more than half (52%) of the respondents said they were overwhelmed by work on a daily basis. Another survey, commissioned by LinkedIn, found that 80% of working adults in the United States worry about the upcoming workweek on Sunday. It’s been labeled “the Sunday Scaries”—high levels of anxiety the night before the start of the work week. It’s not a clinical diagnosis, but Jonathan Abramowitz, a psychologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, states, “This feeling, whether we call it anxiety, worry, stress, fear, whatever, it’s all really the same thing. Psychologically, it’s a response to the perception of some sort of threat.” The “Sunday Scaries” start on Sunday afternoon, after 3:00 p.m. The weekend is waning away, and a sense of low-grade dread begins to set in as employees being to worry about the upcoming work week. There is even a brand of CBD gummies named Sunday Scaries. The use of the phrase has grown rapidly on Twitter since 2016.

Discussion Questions

1. Some people experience the “Sunday Scaries” and some don’t. Do you experience a sense of anxiety on Sunday afternoon? What events during your week contribute to having this feeling (or not)?

2. One way to “stress well” is to clear your desk of clutter. Is your work area organized? Do you think it makes a difference in your stress and performance?

3. Discuss some ways that you could productively start your work week in a positive way.