WHY DO WE HATE MONDAYS? A study noted that workers are most unhappy at precisely 11:17 a.m. on Monday morning. It’s common to feel stressed and frustrated when the weekend ends. There’s plenty of reasons why “Mondays are the worst” and here’s just a few:

We all feel the Monday blues, but why?

You hate your job

Let’s cut to the chase. According to a Gallup poll, 72 percent of coworkers are completely disengaged from their job. This contributes to what we call the “Monday Blues.” Seriously, would you enjoy going to work on a Monday morning at a job you hate? An awful lot of people feel mild anxiety and depression as they get ready for work at the beginning of the week. This could be their inner emotional alarm going off, telling them their job isn’t satisfying.

Sudden Change

This is a no brainer – we find all workdays terrible. But if you ask people which workday of the week they hate the most, they will always say ‘Monday.’ It’s because Monday marks a big emotional shift between the weekend and the weekday. We move from Sunday (a happy, non-work day) to dreadful Monday, which marks the beginning of the five-day workweek.

Sleeping Patterns

Do you sleep for an hour or two on the weekends? According to researchers, two hours of extra sleep on the weekend can disrupt your body clock by as much as 45 minutes and make you feel more tired on Monday morning. Not good. Mess with your internal clock, and you are bound to feel more drained out at the beginning of the week.

New Beginnings

People associate Mondays with fresh beginnings. You are more likely to start something new on the first day of the week. Most of these are positive changes (a new diet or a physical regimen) that aren’t fun to actually do, and yet they come from a place of denunciation where you feel bad about yourself and your habits, which contributes to Monday blues.

Socialize

According to clinical psychologist professor Alex Gardner, we struggle to drum up any enthusiasm on Monday morning due to our tribal instincts. We are cavemen in city suits who want to feel part of the tribe again after the weekend and need to socialize with each other.

“We want to feel part of the tribe so we go for a cup of tea, catch up and then settle down to work. Having done the tribal bonding, we are geared up for a productive week, while some people who have started all guns blazing on a Monday morning may burn themselves out.”

Yet, studies have shown that Americans are least likely to report being happy on Sunday. A study by researchers at the University of Gothenburg and Institute for the Study of Labor found that Germans find Sunday to be the darkest day of the week.

On that final note, Monday may be the worst day of the week but we need to learn to make the most of it. There are multiple ways to beat the Monday blues without dropping a resignation letter on your manager’s desk. Do something that makes you feel good about yourself, your work and your life. Buy a cup of coffee or pay for their lunch when you go out. Remind yourself of things you enjoy about work: for me, it is the coworkers, autonomy, and challenges. Soon, Mondays may become tolerable if not your favorite day of the workweek.

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