Today we want to explore the notion of Sunday Scaries – what is it? What can organizations do to help shift this trend? And what can you, the employee do to help you move through these feelings of anxiety, rumination and worry that emerge as Sunday draws to a close, and more notably, Monday looms on the horizon? Here's the thing: Sunday Scaries are not new to us. When I was growing up, this phenomenon was referred to as The Sunday Night Blues.

While it appears everyone feels this way from time to time, the underlying factors that contribute to these types of feelings are complex and multi-determined. Sometimes it has to do with patterns of dysfunction that are the responsibility of the employee to explore and shift. For example, maybe an employee has a pattern of procrastination and avoidance that leads to this feeling of dread as Monday rolls around because they are aware of the pile of work they have pushed off for weeks. However, it might be squarely the responsibility of the employer(s)/organization, who have created a toxic performance culture that placed unsustainable expectations on their team. And often it is a combo of both the employer and the employee who have to make subtle shifts in their approach to sustainable high performance.