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Back-to-work blues? How to return to work after a holiday

Health & Wellbeing

We all know the feeling. Do you remember that piece of work that you so gleefully didn’t have to deal with until later? Well, later has arrived.

Even if you love your job, it’s always difficult going back to the office after a holiday. In order to adjust smoothly upon returning to work, here is the Glandore Guide to helping you combat the anxiety (and the workload) that might await.

Resist the urge to procrastinate

While it might be easier to spend the morning scrolling through social media, going for your third coffee break in two hours or telling everyone and anyone who will listen all about that hilarious street performer you came across on your break (you had to be there to find it funny), try to resist the temptation of procrastination. It might seem easier to avoid the work until later on but the work isn’t going anywhere, it will still be there, and returning to it won’t get any easier. The longer you leave it, the harder it’ll be to get stuck in.

Don’t get overwhelmed by your inbox

Initially upon your return, don’t spend any longer than half an hour reviewing your emails. It’s only normal to feel overwhelmed when you see that greater-than-normal unread email number, but some of those emails may not be relevant anymore. Some of them could be email marketing, some could be items that you’ve just been copied in as an FYI. Focus on prioritising your email inbox and not necessarily going through them in chronological order. If you have some time before you return to work, you could consider using this 30 minutes on your commute into the office or the night before to clear your inbox, in order to avoid that overwhelming feeling when you return to your desk.

Consider keeping your OOO on

Most people will put on their Out-of-Office autorepsonder while on holidays, but we also recommend keeping it on for an extra day when you get back to your desk. Colleagues that need to know can be informed that you’re back, but until you catch up with things, it’s important to feel that you don’t have to react to every incoming email immediately. An extra day with your OOO on will give you the headspace to get organised without any new expectations coming your way.

Get your sleep schedule back on track

Sleep can often be disrupted or irregular during holiday time so it’s important to make an effort to get back to your usual sleep routine. You might already be a little bit stressed returning to work and a lack of sleep will only heighten this. Without a regular sleep pattern, you might have more difficulty communicating and concentrating at your best.

Plan something fun and don’t overwork!

Reduce the back-to-work blues and any holiday withdrawal symptoms by not overworking upon your return. You might feel like you have a mountain of things to catch up on but by not leaving work at a regular hour or working at the weekend to combat it all (you won’t!) will only lead to burn-out. Plan some fun things to do on your first week back or for the coming weekend so that when normal life resumes, it can be balanced with something to look forward to.

At Glandore, employee engagement and wellbeing is hugely important to us. We nurture our members by creating spaces for people to be their best and most productive selves, both in-and-out of the office. Find out more about our flexible workspaces & coworking offices in DublinBelfast and Cork here.

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