The Playbook: How the winter months impact worker anxiety, productivity

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Marq Burnett

By Marq Burnett – Associate Editor, The Playbook, The Business Journals

Nov 10, 2025

Editor’s Note: Welcome to The Playbook Edition, a look at stories, trends and changes that could affect your business. Want more stories like this in your inbox? Sign up for The Playbook newsletter. 

Winter months mean new anxieties for workers

As temperatures drop and the sun sets earlier, many workers are reporting higher levels of anxiety.

A recent report from Resume.ai found that 15.5% of workers experience extreme anxiety during the winter months, while 42.2% report elevated anxiety at work.

Generationally, Gen Xers (43.7%) and millennials (43.2%) are the most affected by seasonal anxiety, while Gen Zers (11.5%) experience a much lower impact. Those feelings escalate during times of job uncertainty, according to the report.

Experts call the pattern “career hibernation,” as many employees let work shift from being an opportunity to grow into something to deal with until the year ends.

Key quote: “A dip in motivation during winter is not a lack of ambition. It’s your body signaling a need to rest and recalibrate. With awareness and small adjustments in everyday habits, like sleeping on time, eating healthier and keeping a positive atmosphere in the workplace, professionals can turn this slowdown into a period of renewal and return to work more focused and balanced.” — Amanda Augustine, Resume.ai career expert and a Certified Professional Career Coach, in a statement provided with the report

FULL REPORT: Winter months mean new anxieties for workers

A new era of holiday parties is here — and so are the risks

While it may seem like an easy decision, many managers and small-business owners often are left grappling with the idea of hosting a holiday party.

The Playbook’s Andy Medici writes that the decision weighs the benefits of staff camaraderie against the potential social pitfalls of gathering workers together with alcohol — not to mention the rising costs.

Medici notes that experts told The Playbook the decision to host a party also has to be balanced against the idea that some employees might prefer other gifts or rewards to a year-end gathering.

Key quote: “You have to think it through, especially if you’re a small business or team with a tight year-end budget. It might be smarter to use that money on employee bonuses, benefits or reinvesting in the business. There are other ways to show your employees that you care.” — Clay Cary, senior trends analyst and finance expert at CouponFollow

FULL STORY: A new era of holiday parties is here — and so are the risks

Workers are rethinking risk — and it’s affecting filings for new businesses

An increasing number of people have become willing to take on the risks of entrepreneurship, and many experts believe there’ll be even more new-business creation to come.

The Playbook‘s Medici reports there were more than 473,000 new-business applications across the country in August, according to the Census Bureau. That’s close to the highest level that number has been since a massive spike in 2020 amid the onset of the pandemic.

It’s also far higher than what was seen in the years leading up to the pandemic, when new-business applications gradually grew from 200,000 a month during the aftermath of The Great Recession to just under 300,000 in late 2019.

Key quote: “Starting your own business, even in an uncertain economy, is no longer seen as the ‘risky’ option. For many, it is the only option to gain control — over their time, money, energy and productivity. The 2020 pandemic was a global psychological pattern interrupt. It revealed that the ‘safe’ 9-to-5 corporate job was the real risk.” — Business psychologist Julika Novkova

FULL STORY: Workers are rethinking risk — and it’s affecting filings for new businesses

The blitz: Wellness is now a performance metric, and that’s changing the game for hiring managers … America’s top 1% club just got a little less exclusive … As pay growth slows, here are the jobs and industries bucking the trend … Small-business grants available this month include $10,000 from FedEx

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