February Is the Longest Short Month
February might have the fewest days on the calendar, but it can feel like the longest stretch of the year. Short days. Cold weather. That general sense of dragging yourself through the week instead of powering through it. This isn’t in your head, and it’s not just affecting you—it’s showing up across your entire organization.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, 41% of Americans say their mood declines in winter. That’s nearly half your workforce operating below their emotional baseline, and January, February, and March hit the hardest. The lack of sunlight disrupts serotonin and melatonin levels, affecting mood, energy, and sleep patterns. What looks like disengagement might just be biology doing its thing.
I once reported to a VP of HR who made it a practice to avoid announcing major changes or bad news during the winter months whenever possible. At first, I thought it was overcautious. Then I saw what happened when we didn’t follow that guidance. The resistance was stronger, the anxiety higher, and the implementation messier than it needed to be. Timing, it turns out, matters more than most leaders realize.
When Managers Misread the Room
Here’s where things get tricky for small business owners without HR support. When you see low energy in February, it’s easy to interpret it as a performance problem. Someone who was enthusiastic in October seems checked out now. Deadlines that used to be met easily are suddenly squeaking in at the last minute. Your first instinct might be to address what looks like declining engagement or slipping performance.
But winter fatigue isn’t disengagement. It’s a temporary state driven by environmental factors, including shorter days, colder temperatures, and the cumulative exhaustion of making it through another year. Small stressors feel bigger this time of year. A minor process change that would be absorbed easily in May can trigger disproportionate frustration in February.
The risk is that managers react to seasonal fatigue as if it’s a chronic problem, creating tension where there’s actually just a need for understanding and appropriate timing.
What Not to Do Right Now
This isn’t about coddling… it’s about smart timing and human-centered leadership.
If you can possibly avoid it, don’t roll out major organizational changes right now. Don’t introduce ambitious new cultural initiatives. Don’t launch complex new systems or programs. And don’t schedule high-stakes performance conversations that can wait a few weeks until spring arrives.
Why? Because poorly timed decisions and announcements create greater resistance, anxiety, and morale issues than the same initiatives would generate under better conditions. The best plans and ideas can fall flat—or outright fail—when employees are already feeling worn down and lacking the energy to navigate them.
Asking people to embrace significant change when they’re already running on low is a bit like asking someone to run a marathon they didn’t train for. The desire is there, the capacity isn’t.
This doesn’t mean you ignore real, specific concerns. If someone’s performance has genuinely declined and needs to be addressed, address it. If there’s a critical business issue that can’t wait, don’t wait. But if you’re about to announce a reorganization, implement a new software system company-wide, or launch a wellness initiative that requires enthusiastic participation? Consider whether April would work just as well as February or March.
What Wintertime Is Actually Good For
The Wintery isn’t a dead zone where nothing productive happens. It’s just not the right time for big, energy-intensive launches. Instead, it’s an excellent opportunity for behind-the-scenes work that sets you up for success when the energy and momentum return.
This is the time for preventative HR work—policy updates, compliance reviews, improving onboarding processes, refining training programs. Work on leadership development and coaching. These initiatives don’t require company-wide enthusiasm, but they strengthen your foundation.
Check in on goals, objectives, and strategies. Are they clear? Are people actually working toward them, or have they gotten lost in the daily shuffle? This is the perfect time to course-correct and move things forward in smaller, manageable ways rather than dramatic overhauls.
Provide extra support through clear, supportive communication. Your team needs to know you see them, understand the challenges, and aren’t about to pile on unrealistic demands. Focus on consistency rather than pushing for improvement or intensity. Maintain standards without raising the bar too high.
Look for and recognize success, even when it’s less dramatic. The employee who’s maintaining solid performance in February deserves acknowledgement just as much as the one who exceeded targets in October. Maybe more.
The Spring Strategy
Smart managers balance business needs with human realities, keeping their focus on longer-term outcomes rather than forcing short-term wins during a low-energy season.
The companies that use the quieter times to strengthen their foundation are the ones that will move fastest when energy and momentum return.
Spring is coming. With it comes renewed energy, better focus, and natural momentum. The same employees who seem worn down now will likely show up differently in a few weeks when daylight extends and temperatures rise. That cultural initiative you’re itching to launch? It’ll get better traction through the spring. The organizational restructure you’ve been planning? People will have more capacity to absorb it after they’ve had a chance to reset.
This doesn’t mean lowering expectations. It means being strategic about when you ask people to stretch, adapt, and embrace significant change. It means understanding that your workforce isn’t a machine that operates at consistent capacity year-round—they’re human beings affected by seasons, sunlight, and the cumulative weight of winter.
The Role of HR Guidance
One of the most valuable roles HR can play is helping organizations think through timing, priorities, and risk before decisions are made or actions are taken. A short conversation now can prevent much bigger problems in April.
For small businesses without full-time HR staff, this is where HR support or consulting can make a significant difference. An experienced HR advisor can help you evaluate whether that planned announcement should wait, how to communicate necessary changes in ways that minimize resistance, and what behind-the-scenes work will position you for successful implementation when the time is right.
The winter doldrums are real. They affect your employees, your managers, and probably you. But they’re also temporary. The question isn’t whether to acknowledge them—it’s how to lead through them in ways that respect your people while still moving your business forward.
Be patient. Be strategic. Spring is almost here.
Ross Insight Solutions provides HR support and consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States.
