Bare Minimum Monday

Bare Minimum Monday

On the news yesterday, I heard for the first time the term “Sunday Scaries.” Where have I been? This term is over a decade old, and I had not heard it. According to a LinkedIn survey this condition affects at least 70% of employees. Here is a dictionary definition, “… Sunday Scaries are the anxieties one experiences on Sunday when thinking about the impending workweek, school week, or other obligations ...”

One of the recommended solutions to overcome Sunday Scaries was to ease into the week by having a Bare Minimum Monday. This means just doing enough to get by and not get fired. This is presented as self-care.

My first reaction to Sunday Scaries and Bare Minimum Mondays is I am coming up short in the empathy column. My first thought is fragility since we live in a time of great excess, abundance, opportunities, etc. As I was reflecting on this my emotional intelligence kicked in and it reminded me to accept people where they are at. This is their experience. However, from a real-world business perspective, I can’t remember reading any biography or autobiography of people who built successful businesses advocating bare minimum anything. It was more like fire in the belly, being hungry, balls to the wall, pedal to the metal, and always hustling.

In the 80s, I visited the office of a very successful CEO who built a multimillion-dollar distribution business. Hanging on the wall in his office was a beautifully framed copy of this saying, “Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. The gazelle knows it must also run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will die. So, it doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”

To me, this saying captures the essence of most successful people. Now, are there many successful people who eased into success with the Bare Minimum Mondays? I am sure there are, but I am confident the majority of successful businesspeople can better relate to, “… you’d better be running.”

I wonder how many of our grandparents had Sunday Scaries or had the luxury of a Bare Minimum Mondays. I am guessing most were thankful they had a job. I also believe the ethos back then would have a hard time accepting Bare Minimum Monday.

Here is my take on Sunday Scaries. If employees are feeling these anxieties, they are most likely related to poor boss relationship and poor job fit. The best way to fix a poor boss relationship is to have a conversation and clear up expectations. If this doesn’t work, it is time to find a new boss. Life is too short to live with a poor boss relationship.

Now, as it pertains to poor job fit, if you don’t like the job, it is probably time to find a new job. Did I say life is too short? On the other hand, if you like the job, but the job doesn’t like you back, it is also time to find a new job. For example, many people like golf, but golf does not like them back. As a result, they would never make a living playing golf.  

Finally, reexamine your expectations to see if they are realistic. I would hazard a guess most of our anxieties come from unrealistic and or unmet expectations of self and others. This is where self-awareness and self-management come into play. These are the cornerstones of emotional intelligence.

I would hazard a guess that people with the Sunday Scaries would benefit from taking an EQ assessment and working on their self-awareness and self-management. The EQ assessment I use is the EQi. I have given feedback to well over 1,000 people using the EQi. If interested, do contact me.

Dr. Raj Beekie is an associate professor in the DBA department at Saint Mary’s University, MN. To learn more about our DBA program here is the address

https://smumn.edu/doctor-of-business-administration-dba/

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the thoughts and ideas expressed, he hopes they provide a broader foundation for discussion. Dr. Beekie received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Organizational Communication from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, master's degree in Intercultural Communication from North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, and doctorate in Organization Development from the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN.

Dr. Beekie also consults in the areas of career coaching, leadership development, diversity, emotional intelligence, and effective communication. To offer your feedback or contact me, I can be reached at rbeekie@smumn.edu