You know it, we know it, Mondays are no fun for anyone. Cue the trend of “bare minimum Mondays.” The BMM work trend has gained traction as a workplace phenomenon that is aimed at easing employees back into the workweek with fewer stressors lined up on their tables right from the start. The bare minimum Monday trend was conceptualized by TikTok creator and startup founder Marisa Jo Mayes, primarily as an explanation of her own approach to work.
While we’re wary of putting too much stock into online trends, Marisa Jo’s approach is easy to understand, and its utility is apparent right from the start. The trend recommends treating Monday as a day to process all that is coming up for the rest of the workweek, so you can slowly plan out how you want to approach the rest. Here’s the ideology behind the trend of bare minimum Mondays, explained.
The “bare minimum Mondays” trend encourages employees to start their week slowly, taking stock of all the work that lies ahead. (Image: Pexels)
What Is the Bare Minimum Monday Trend and Is It a Good Idea for HR to Promote It?
The “Sunday Scaries” as a concept has been around since the early 2000s, and most everyone has likely experienced it in their lives. Whether as a parent, a student, a worker, or as someone stuck in that in-between phase of unemployment, the foreboding arrival of a Monday has hit everyone hard. While Sundays are meant for relaxing, many of us spend them worrying about the tasks that lie ahead during the week. Bare minimum Mondays are a simple response to that feeling.
The trend doesn’t ask employees to stop working on Monday, but instead recommends taking a slower, more intentional approach to work. Instead of diving straight into all the tasks that have you panicking, it recommends catching your breath first and slowly treading the water for the week that is to come.
“Alleviating that pressure and choosing to let myself off the hook was a much-needed change of mindset going into the beginning of the week … which suddenly allowed me to be productive again,” Marisa Jo told CNBC. Now that’s where the trend might have started, but we can see many ways for HR to adopt and enforce the practice to aid their employees in managing their workloads better.
What are the Benefits of Minimizing Monday Tasks?
We take rest days from working out and get summer breaks to enjoy some quality time away from school, but when it comes to working a job, there are no clear breaks from being immersed in the work environment. Sure, people do manage to go on vacation for a few days, and we do have the weekend to break the week into more manageable chunks, but these breaks are rarely sufficient to fully enjoy some peace.
The arguments in favor of a 4-day workweek are very useful in explaining how longer breaks from work could be beneficial in the long run, but businesses aren’t ready to have that conversation just yet. The bare minimum Monday trend provides us with some middle ground. By allowing workers to have a slower start to their week, they might be able to better handle the stressors that come straight towards them for the rest of the week.
The BMM work trend could help employees with:
- Reducing burnout and enhancing their mental health
- Bringing down work-related anxieties and allowing them to feel more in control of their tasks
- Using Mondays to get through low-priority tasks, administrative work, or other jobs that often get forgotten due to pressures
- Prioritizing tasks is better to ensure they can be productive for the rest of the week
- Adding more intentional involvement in the workers’ tasks for the week
- Giving workers more control over their schedule
- Promoting a work-life balance by dedicating Mondays to self-care
Should HR Encourage Bare Minimum Mondays?
Not all roles lend themselves to a reduced workload on Mondays, and not all organizations have a culture that will accommodate such a trend. But for the large part, the trend appears to be one worth encouraging. A key concern for HR is the perception that Bare Minimum Mondays can be equated to slacking off, which makes it harder for employees to experiment with this strategy on their own. However, when HR takes the lead to encourage reserving Mondays for self-care and ensuring a healthy work-life balance, employees will follow through without a doubt.
For bare minimum Mondays to succeed without leading to more friction and accusations within the workplace, some structure is necessary. It is up to HR professionals to get the leadership on board and map out how it will be enforced across the organization. This may involve training managers to model the behavior, such as avoiding scheduling heavy meetings or deadlines on Mondays, and communicating the benefits to the entire workforce.
Supporting a healthy work-life balance and taking action in support of employee goodwill can go a long way in building a good relationship with employees. A slow start can be beneficial for everyone, but particularly with the younger generation, who are vocal about their preference for flexibility and balance.
Do you think bare minimum Mondays could help in coping with the pressures of employment? Let us know what you think. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.