Work wellbeing | How the clocks turning back can impact staff

Workers within the UK likely woke up this morning feeling suspiciously refreshed. This is because today, Monday October, 26, 2020 is the start of the first working week since the clocks went back, giving the workforce seemingly one more hour in bed and plunging the UK into the start of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and the winter season.

Whilst the change, which inevitably takes place every year in October, may seem like a small one, it could well have a significant impact on the workforce for several reasons including energy levels, productivity and mental wellbeing.

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The biggest change is the alteration of circadian rhythms, which define when we feel tired, how long we sleep and when we naturally wake. According to This Week in FM, The National Institute of General Medical Sciences stated that: “Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow a daily cycle. They respond primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment. Sleeping at night and being awake during the day is an example of a light-related circadian rhythm.”

So naturally, gaining an extra hour of sunlight in the morning, but at the expense of losing an hour of sunlight at the end of the day can have a profound impact on these rhythms. When the UK was forced into a national lockdown earlier this year and remote working became the norm, people were able to offset the stresses of home working by enjoying longer days and hotter weather.