Science has found why we are reluctant to work on Mondays.

A research team affiliated with the University of Mannheim is interested in how the quality of sleep during the weekend influences the ability of employees to mentally reconnect with their work on Mondays, and to be effective throughout the week.

Because many workers struggle to get back to their files on Monday morning, after being away from the office for 48 hours. Some even tend to be aggressive that day, before easing up throughout the week, according to article Published in 2021 by the Journal of Applied Psychology. For some, this phenomenon is even pathological. Researchers speak of “Monday morning syndrome,” a disorder characterized, among other things, by a lack of energy, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.

If there is any debate about the existence of this syndrome, there is no doubt that workers should carry out a process of psychological reconnection, that is, mentally reconnecting with their professional goals, after days of rest. The authors The current studypublished in Journal of Organizational Behaviorput forward the idea that working people have less difficulty getting to work on Monday when they get a good night's sleep over the weekend.

To test this hypothesis, the researchers followed 310 German employees for five weeks. They had to answer a questionnaire about their sleep quality and return to work on Monday, and then on Friday, another questionnaire about their fatigue and performance levels throughout the week.

Volunteers who got enough rest over the weekend had less trouble getting to work on Monday morning. Conversely, those who didn’t sleep well on their days off had more trouble getting back into things. Surprisingly, workers who worked very short nights on Saturday and Sunday due to various social commitments seemed immune. They were able to get to work on Monday morning, despite having had little sleep.

On the other hand, the study’s signatories noted that accumulated fatigue over the weekend does not directly affect employee performance. But since fatigue is detrimental to long-term effectiveness, it’s important to make rest a priority.

That’s why you need to make sure you get a good night’s sleep on Saturday and Sunday. It may seem trivial, but sleep is the key to making Monday a fulfilling and productive day, and not the worst day of the week. To do this, apply the principles of the “quiet weekend” and ditch the guilt that comes with rest. Without energy, you won’t get far.