Why Do We Dread Mondays?
Every Monday, I struggle to wake up. I sleep through my alarms in the morning and then stagger to the bathroom with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Getting ready for the day seems more exhaustive than usual, and all I want to do is crawl back into my cozy bed. I resist the urge, make coffee, and steel my nerves for going to work. As I start my car and begin my commute, the sinking feeling in my stomach gets worse. It feels like I have a rock in my stomach that is slowly expanding, making me uncomfortable and gluing me to the fabric of my car seat. When I actually get to work and settle at my desk, I let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly sign onto my computer. I check emails, fumble through a crossword, procrastinate. It’s not a good start to my week, but it seems to consistently happen anyway.
A lot of people dread Mondays. It feels like a societal standard that we can’t escape, something that just comes with the working life. Stress surrounding starting a new week and especially going to work are at the forefront of Mondays, it’s our initial association with that time of the week. It’s so incredibly normalized that most people don’t even question it, but do we need to dread Mondays? It seems like a bad way to start the week, but what if it’s secretly productive in some way? Why do we actually dread Mondays?
For most people, a case of Monday dread actually stems from what some call the Sunday Scaries, an onset of dread or anxiety surrounding the idea of Monday. This often stems from being overstimulated or close to burnout at work. Productivity is incredibly valued right now, even sometimes over one’s own mental well-being. People in the workforce often work right on the edge of the point of burnout, working right up to that ledge can be incredibly exhausting. In addition to this, having a job where you are in a highly stimulating environment all day can cause mental exhaustion, leading to a negative association with that place of work.
Monday dread means that most employees feel less satisfaction and more stress with their jobs at the beginning of the week. It seems simple to point out, but this may be a sign that you don’t love your job, or it isn’t as fulfilling to you as it should be. Monday dread can be a sign that your workplace is putting you under various different stressors, which can cause a negative association to be formed. It can also be a sign that you feel misaligned with your position at work since the beginning of a new week can act as a reminder of your aimlessness. If you’re experiencing Monday dread, it might be worth looking into your relationship with your job.
Another common cause of dreading Mondays is having a packed or disruptive weekend schedule. It’s easy to want to catch up on sleep during the weekend, but studies show that drastically changing your sleep schedule is detrimental to the body. It also disrupts your natural bodily schedule. On the other side, over-packing your weekend can lead to a compound of fatigue from just doing too much. Letting loose and partying can be a great way to relax and be fun in the moment, but it definitely leaves a lasting impact on your energy levels. Having this kind of emphasis on weekends can mean that Mondays are a big emotional shift for some, leading to Monday dread.
Weekends are fun and work is not. Many people dread Mondays simply because they don’t feel free at work. Weekends often feel like a space of freedom and opportunity, whereas work feels like a place of constraint and stress. It’s hard to give up leisure and self-care for productivity, and most people simply don’t want to. It represents having to give up your time, instead of spending it in a way that you choose. If this is you, it may be time to reconsider your job and how comfortable you feel there. Feelings of steep change between the work week and weekend may indicate that you feel like you’re living a double life where you can’t be yourself at work.
Dreading Mondays is a normal part of life, but it can be an indicator of a larger sense of unhappiness. Work-life balance is an incredibly delicate thing to maintain, and sometimes you need some Monday dread to let you know your balance may be off. If you start your week already tired, you may need to reassess how you spend your weekends. The important thing is to be in touch with yourself and make sure to prioritize your mental health.