A New Year’s resolution is simply a choice someone makes at the start of the new year to change the things they do, or perhaps to do things they have not done yet. These resolutions are common in most of the Western Hemisphere and also in the East but what the resolutions are can vary a lot.
If you are living or working in the UK or you are working with people from the UK it is useful to understand the feelings and intentions behind these resolutions and how hard it can be to stick to them. Below are some common resolutions you may hear about or be told about when working with English speaking people especially from the UK.
This is a very common resolution. It is a simple one to say but a hard one to do. A lot of people would like to weigh less and be in better shape. January is a very common time to start trying to exercise more and lose weight. It is often hard to go outside and exercise because the weather is so bad in the UK. It is important to be nice and to encourage people if they tell you this is there plan. Be careful not to offend anyone by agreeing they should lose weight.
Smoking is certainly something many people want to stop doing. It is a perfect new years resolution for health and to save money. Some people choose to try e-cigarettes to help and others just stop. If you are working around people who are trying to stop smoking remember to be supportive. If you smoke it is polite to try to not remind them you are going for a cigarette as this may make things harder.
This is a very common resolution in the UK and across many countries. It is not always about losing weight but about being healthier. As with smoking, eating junk food in front of people who are trying to be healthy can be a little rude. It would also be bad to invite people out with you for junk food and not think about the people trying to stick with their resolution.
There is no doubt, people in the UK do like drinking alcohol. Giving this up forever is not a common resolution but there is a common practice where people stop drinking for January. This is called a “dry January”. As with other resolutions it is important to remember work mates and friends may be trying not to drink and it is nice to be helpful and supportive.
This resolution is certainly more extreme than the others mentioned here but January in the UK is very often about looking for a new job. It is important to know this because January and February is a great time to be looking for work in the UK.
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