Navigating the Emotional Rollercoaster: Returning to Work After a Holiday

Returning to work after a holiday can be quite challenging for people. After a few weeks of downtime, they experience difficulties getting back into the working routine again. Some people return home and realize how boring and unsatisfactory their normal lifestyle is when compared to the activities they did while on holiday.?

I noticed myself asking the people around me; ‘what is happening, it feels crazy, everyone wants things done now, or projects to start rolling again shortly, it seems like we’re going from standing still to the highest speed possible. Do you recognize this?’.

For some, returning to office means the things you like or dislike about your position or the organization, immediately hit you in the face again. It is a boost or a hindrance for your motivation or your team members. The sudden change in speed can create feelings of overwhelm. In most cases, it creates stress (positively or negatively). When the emotional rollercoaster is taking its toll on people, Returning to the office after a holiday is the time people decide; ‘My situation needs to change’.

The Post-Holiday Blues

The post-holiday blues refers to the short-term feelings that individuals experience after the holidays, including tiredness, sadness, loneliness, strong feelings of nostalgia, fatigue, disappointment, sluggishness, mental distress, or even dread of the upcoming winter months. Though the concept of post-holiday blues hasn't been studied much, the feelings are still a fairly common occurrence. The good thing about it is: It is a sign of healthy psychological functioning.

Some people have difficulties with the holidays themselves. The grand expectations, stress organizing it, reminders of lost ones or estranged loved ones, difficult family relationships, or financial burdens can be difficult. Those who enjoy the holiday season may receive a boost of dopamine and serotine, two feel-good hormones, that can go together with a holiday. But when the holiday ends, the mood boost ends. The abrupt end can also feel disorienting and may trigger post-holiday blues.

The shorter your trip, the easier it is to adjust to a normal routine again. In most cases, the post-holiday blues wear off over time. It usually takes a few days, in extreme cases, the mood can last for several weeks.

Navigating the Emotional Transition

It is a good thing to realize when you are feeling tired, sad, or disappointed to reflect on the root causes of it and take into account that it is normal to experience a form of post-holiday blues. If it sticks with you for a longer time, it is good to ask yourself if this still relates to holidays and create self-awareness about your mental state and the root causes of it.

Let me provide you with some well-known strategies people use to overcome the post-holiday blues:

• The first well-known methodology for curing post-holiday blues is to plan or book the next holiday upon return. It offers distraction and provides something to look forward to.
• Share experiences about your holiday with friends and family or look at photos and souvenirs. Myself, I like to buy practical souvenirs when on holiday. Every time I use these objects, they remind me of the holiday.
• Others find comfort in reliving their holiday experiences. If you enjoyed bouldering during the holiday, you might want to join a boulder association when returning home.
• Or you can try a gradual transition and allow yourself to take more time to return to ‘normal speed’.
• Self-care and incorporating good habits like getting enough sleep, eating a balanced and nutritious diet, avoiding alcohol or drugs, and scheduling activities in advance might also help you get back into a normal routine.

I mentioned before that post-holiday blues wear off over time. When feelings of post-holiday blues begin to impact your daily functioning, like making it hard to get out of bed, go to work or school, leave the house, spend time with others, or accomplish small tasks, it may be worth seeking support or check-in with a health care provider.

Finding Meaning and Purpose

The strategies mentioned above might help you to find meaning or purpose again in your work. To find more meaning and purpose, you don’t want to drown in email and keep good time management. Think about connecting with people to catch up about all things happening when you were away.

Reflecting on your goals, and defining where you’re at now and how you would like to continue with them helps to remember why you set those goals and what they mean to you. It might help to re-energize yourself. Simply too many goals on your plate; you could try to park a few until next year. No harm in that.

Meaning and purpose can also be found in a healthy work-life balance. If you feel your post-holiday blues aren’t wearing off and you feel you adopted an unhealthy work-life balance, it might help you to hit the breaks and find out what you need to develop a healthy work-life balance. ?

Cultivating a Positive Work Environment

Employers and manager can play their part in smoothly returning to work. Cultivating a positive work environment, for example, by creating in-person moments to transition the work back, and being aware of the fact people need to adjust upon returning to work helps to transition back. It’s not only asking your employees about their holiday experiences, but it’s also the question: ‘Do you need anything/What do you need to return to work smoothly?’, that shows you care and realize it is difficult for some.

Open communication, flexibility, and team-building activities can play an important role in this. Teambuilding activities don’t have to be grand. Recently, a manager told me that arranging Friday team lunches stimulated the team to come to the office on Fridays. The manager noticed this improved collaboration and stimulated bonding.

Embracing the Present and Future Opportunities

When experiencing post-holiday blues, the best thing you can do is embrace them. I don’t mean drown yourself in them, just realize it is a normal feeling and it proves mentally healthy functioning.

Embrace that this is a free opportunity offered to look forward, reflect on what it tells you, and think about future opportunities you wish to create. At work, or otherwise. Perhaps this is THE moment to pick up on your potential for growth, for learning. To discover the professional realm you’re looking for.

Conclusion

To recap the main points of this newsletter: Post-holiday blues are normal and they wear off in a few days. It shows healthy mental functioning. Post-holiday blues are a free opportunity to reflect and align with yourself again, redefine goals, tune into desires, and set the action steps you wish to take.

Emotional transitions take time, also returning to work just takes time. Being kind and gentle to yourself helps a smooth transition, workwise and emotionally. Rome wasn’t built in one day, right? This is what you are going through, not who you are.

This is just a small chapter of your life and I believe you have everything in you to be good to yourself. The next chapter of your life is going to be so amazing, that you don’t know it yet, but it will.

Care to talk more about this topic or discover how career coaching can help you find more meaning and purpose at work? Schedule a call today to find out how we can collaborate to get there.

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