news
It's notorious for the arrival of Christmas credit card bills, precious little daylight and the grim prospect of 74 days until the next bank holiday.
Studies by the Oxford-based consultancy iOpener have produced ten top tips for transforming the potential misery into a happier time at work.
The steps range from simply greeting your colleagues to focusing on the positive aspects of your job to thinking about the difference you make to others.
"You might not think so but if you're feeling low then volunteering to help someone else can really be uplifting," says iOpener's chief executive Jess Pryce-Jones."We all know how good we feel giving someone a present - doing them a good turn can help you beat the blues as well."
Jess Pryce-Jones featured as an expert in the BBC series "Making Slough Happy."
Other top tips include thinking about people worse off than you and choosing the best order to do tasks "that's something which helps you feel more in control." widely known that a sense of having some control over your work is really good for you "especially on a dreaded day like January 18."
iOpener has been conducting research over four years and has involved over 3000 people completing questionnaires in 68 countries. The main findings will be published in a book called "Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success " by Jess Pryce-Jones.
iOpener's ten top tips for beating the blues are:
1. Greet everyone you see as you arrive: that way you'll feel connected to your colleagues
2. Do something difficult. Sounds odd but everyone feels really good about themselves when they meet a challenge.
3. Put things in proportion. Instead of cursing bankers bonuses, think instead about people who don't have jobs and be grateful for what you've got.
4. Show a close colleague some appreciation. It's all too easy to forget to thank people.
5. Think about the differences you make to others including your family just by being at work and doing your job well.
6. Make active choices about what you do and when. Composing a to-do list in an order you find important can increase your sense of control.
7. Phone a friend. It's always good to share and connect with people outside work.
8. Write down the parts of the job you really like: think about how you might get more of them.
9.Volunteer to do something you wouldn't normally do. You'll get a lot of appreciation and you might learn something too.
10. Revisit your main new year's resolution. Take one small step to progressing it.
"They're not just easy, they're free and most importantly will make you feel a whole lot better, even on the worst day of the year."