The vacation season is coming to an end and offices are filling up again. However, not everyone finds it easy to return to work. There is even a psychological term and an explanation for bad moods on the first working day after vacation. The reason for the so-called “post-holiday syndrome” is a feeling of insecurity. It describes uncertainties such as not knowing what to expect after an extended absence. These thoughts develop feelings ranging from sadness to depressive moods. Normally, these feelings disappear after one or two days in the office at the latest, as soon as you realize that your fears were unfounded.
To help you avoid post holiday syndrome in the first place, we have 10 tips for you:
- Plan a buffer for your vacation. Come home a day or two early so you have time to unpack your suitcase, get your thoughts in order and get over jet lag before your first day of work. This way you start your job relaxed and without stress.
- It’s best to schedule your first day of work on a Wednesday or Thursday. With a short work week, you’ll find it a little easier to get back into the swing of things and have more time to switch into work mode for good.
- Buy yourself time with the help of your email program’s out of office assistant to sort through your email inbox and get back into work mode by remaining unreachable to the outside world for an extra day or two.
- Speaking of email input. Experts recommend sorting emails not by date, but by sender. This way you can quickly see who has sent you the most messages and arrange a meeting with the colleague. This way, you clarify all urgent questions at once instead of answering the many mails one by one.
- Share ideas with your colleagues to stay up to date. Spend a lunch break together or arrange to meet for coffee in the cafeteria.
- Start slowly on the job. Start with urgent but smaller tasks that allow for breaks and postpone larger projects, of course if possible, until the second week after the vacation.
- To enjoy the recovery effect for as long as possible, make sure to stay stress-free. Therefore, do not neglect your breaks and try to finish work on time. This will keep you rested and relaxed for a long time and give you plenty of energy to work on new projects.
- To keep the vacation feeling going for as long as possible, keep your vacation rituals. If you had a long breakfast during your time away, went for an early morning jog, or read a nice book before bed – transfer these vacation habits to your everyday life.
- Look at your work with a fresh eye. Due to the distance you gained during your vacation, you may now notice opportunities for improvement and optimization that you had not noticed before and that could possibly make your daily work routine easier.
- If returning to work after your vacation is still too stressful, remember to find and train a vacation replacement before your next vacation so that some of the work that will be done during your absence will be taken off your hands by your colleagues.
If the negative feelings stay with you for more than a few days, it is a sign that you should take a closer look at your current job situation, because the time may have come for a job change.
If you are then looking for new career prospects, we will be happy to help you find a job. To do so, contact us by phone 089/2000 374 0 or send us your resume to info@mint-solutions.de.
