Feeling less productive or resilient at certain times of the year may not simply be a matter of motivation. Your body and mind respond to seasonal changes, daily biological rhythms and the demands of modern life, all of which can influence how well you cope with stress.

Stress resilience is not a fixed trait. Instead, it is a constantly shifting balance between your mental and physical capacity and the demands placed on you.

During winter, energy levels can fall, people may become less social and sticking to exercise routines can become harder. Longer days in spring and summer, meanwhile, are often linked to greater energy, activity and social engagement. These effects can also vary depending on where you live, particularly because the seasons are reversed across the two hemispheres.

Your body runs on multiple clocks

Seasonal changes are only one part of the picture. The body operates according to several overlapping rhythms, including the circadian sleep-wake cycle and chronotype — whether someone naturally functions better as an early riser or a night owl.

Other biological cycles can also influence energy, mood and physical readiness. At the same time, social rhythms such as school terms, workplace deadlines, holidays and festivals can suddenly increase the demands placed on people.

When these pressures collide, stress can become harder to manage. An intense work deadline during the dark, cold days of winter, for example, can combine high demands with a period of lower capacity.

Global workplaces face a similar challenge

The rise of hybrid and remote work has made these differences increasingly relevant. Teams now frequently collaborate across time zones and, in many cases, across hemispheres, meaning colleagues may be dealing with very different weather, daylight and seasonal conditions.

A worker struggling through extreme summer heat in one country may be collaborating with colleagues experiencing winter in another, while a third team member could be enjoying ideal conditions elsewhere. Yet workplace expectations often remain the same.

One way organisations can respond is by creating an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing workload, stress and fluctuations in productivity. A 2024 survey of nearly 28,000 employees across 16 countries found that workers who were less comfortable raising concerns about workload, mental health and productivity changes were about 10% more likely to leave their jobs.

How to work with your rhythms

The article recommends three approaches to building resilience:

Acknowledge: Recognise that changes in energy, focus and capacity are normal rather than treating every low-energy period as a personal failure.

Integrate: Adjust your routines where possible. That could mean sleeping slightly earlier during winter, choosing lighter exercise when energy is low or scheduling demanding work for the time of day when you are naturally most alert.

Adapt: When circumstances cannot be changed, rely on healthy habits such as adequate sleep, a varied diet and regular exercise to build a buffer against stress. Mindfulness, breathing exercises and brief grounding techniques can also provide short-term relief.

The takeaway is simple: you are probably not exactly the same person in February as you are in June — and that is not necessarily a problem. Instead of forcing yourself to perform at the same level all year, understanding your natural rhythms may help you manage stress and work more sustainably.