Holiday anxiety and returning to work.

For many of us the holiday period is filled with the balancing act of spending?time with family, celebrating the year?that was and hopefully if you are lucky enough,?being able to get away for a holiday from the same four walls of your home.

With that said, this is not always the case as there are also many people that have not been lucky?enough or cannot travel, are not lucky enough to have spent time with family and struggled to feel like they had much to celebrate at all last year. Many people would have felt lonely throughout this time of the?year,?they say Xmas is the loneliest?time of the year - In addition many people who did all the above still walked away from it with a lot of anxiety about the new year, a lot of anxiety after spending more time than normal with?family (not every family is the Brady bunch?right??!!) so imagine?how people are feeling coming back for their first day?

Normally I am lucky enough?to have gone away over xmas be it camping?or seeing family?interstate in FNQ. This year was different as we could not as we had family xmas at our house and in addition?I had my dog who had her 2nd ACL repair on her leg (pic provided) 2 days after xmas which meant that my wife and I were house prone over the xmas and new year period making sure there was minimal movement from a 65kg dog in a crate!. I %100 did not feel rested the same I have in previous years and a little anxious about stepping back into the day even though my workplace is the funnest place.

Now having additional people stay at your house is always a little stressful especially when you have a little OCD (now I love my family but picture things being in places they dont go and just generally tip toeing around your house) - but going from that to staying at home and caring for a dog 24/7 to going back to work can create feelings of stress, anxiety and just a general sense of It wasn't really the rest or break I thought I was going to get.

This leads me to my point about how you may be able to help someone or help yourself ease back into the daily (grind).

• Be kind to yourself - dont expect to pick things up where you left them. Being 'workfit' is like being 'match fit', As much as those 200 emails say urgent, others urgency may not equal your urgency for a first day back response. Approach this week with a view to smaller bite sized tasks and outcomes to make way for bigger picture long term work the week after.

• Create good work habits from your first?day back, dont work back extra hours because?the work is there - it will always be there and if it is it's not such a bad thing! Take the time to set those habits now which will set you up for the year. Making sure that you are comfortable with work being left (I like to call it "Worked on") is a very important step to ensure you dont feel like you need to cross off things every day.

• Make time to check in with the people around you, even if you work remotely,?try and make a time where you can discuss what the next week or two looks like. Part of this is for you to talk about your break (and how you feel post it if you are comfortable) and what the expectation is as you ramp up getting back into the swing of it. A lot of the time anxiety comes from the unknown and if you and your leader and those around you are on the same page then this can provide clarity and hopefully clearer expectations

• Get back to (or create them) those healthy routines you had pre-xmas - be it seeing someone who you would regularly lean on, exercise/gym or other things that allowed you to distract yourself from the day to day. If you feel that this is your year to create them from 2024 then reach out to talk to those around you and or a someone that may specialise in that field.

For those leaders who may be reading this, seems pretty obvious but:

• Dont assume that everyone is ready and firing from 9am on their first day back - some will be and that could be those who felt truly rested but some may not. Remember those who may have struggled with anxiety or an un-ideal break through the holiday period could be already at fight or flight before the day has already started. This doesn't mean leave them alone at all but refer to point 3.
• Take the time to re-align your team/s to the goal for the rest of the FY or the start of the calendar?year and how this is going to be achieved?and what is required from everyone. By everyone knowing their?part and having the clarity it in turn gives them clarity and possible reducing some of that return to work anxiety.
• Make time for Face to Face, 1 on 1 time that isn't all about work. Work relationships?have the word relationship in it and it is always something that can be strengthened and the bond being stronger. Stronger a working partnership the stronger and better the outcomes.
• Be kind and when you can have a little FUN! - if the type of industry you are in is a tad quieter at the moment then use that to your advantage. Create time and space for your team to get together and re-kindle those post xmas team bonds through fun activities and or different things/way to do things than the norm (Im not?trying to Cross Sell, but Fun-lab.com.au hey!)? Whatever you do, dont do a bloody Pizza day unless you want to go viral on social media.

If you are unsure of the best approach, reach out to those around you and talk it through - this holiday period is such a unique time of the year with a greater sense of expectation on us for us to get back on the horse. Make sure the horse can run the race and do it again and again and again not just a one hit wonder!

Always happy to chat to those who feel like they feel anything like the above or just want some tips for a better balanced and hopefully less anxious 2024!