How the 'Sunday blues' ruin our weekends

According to a survey, one in four of us will have spent yesterday suffering from the so-called 'Sunday blues' because of the stress of returning to work...

The dread of going back to work on a Monday morning has started making our days off miserable as well, with one in four of us (26%) spending yesterday suffering from the so-called 'Sunday blues' because of the stress of returning to the office.

The condition has been exacerbated by the recession, which has left many employees doing unpaid overtime, taking on extra duties and fearing redundancy, the survey by Mind, the mental health charity, found.

Its study of 2,000 people found that 70 per cent have felt 'dread and apprehension' the day before going back to work after time off. Some 26 per cent felt it every week or most weeks.

Other findings include effects on people's sleep patterns, high rates of illness and reports of extensive low morale. High rates of unpaid overtime were recorded, and almost all the people questioned were unhappy with their work-life balances.

Tough times in the workplace, where people are living with the constant fear of redundancy and often taking on extra duties because of a recession-reduced workforce and companies downsizing, could mean years of uncertainty for workers.

Mind is calling on employers to improve working conditions, allowing staff to 'reclaim their lunch break'. It estimates that 70million working days a year are lost to mental health problems.

Paul Farmer, of Mind, said: 'The emotional fallout of the recession doesn't just centre on people who have lost jobs, but also on those struggling to cope with the extra demands of working harder.'

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