???Summer Holidays – the Good, the Bad, and the Career-Changing???

//Disclaimer: All opinions are my own//

Summer! The best time of the year! Who isn’t looking forward to the long-needed break? Few will say they don’t dream of the rustling waves, the bright sun, and digital detox. Wherever the holidays take us, and whatever we prefer to do on a break – relaxing by the pool, partying through the night, visiting family, or going on road trips with friends – we all enjoy the break from the routine and the new energy it gives us.Or does it? Holiday can also be stressful, even if we don’t like to think about it. For one, it can come with unfulfilled expectations, body image issues, and loss of structure and routine. Maybe also excessive drinking and eating, but that is a small evil most of us happy to accept.

What’s more depressing is the fact that there are still companies that may expect you to stay connected while on holidays, and either check emails or do occasional piece of work. Laura M. Giurge and Kaitlin Woolley have shown in their research that doing work at the time that is meant to be for leisure leads to the decreased intrinsic motivation in the people they surveyed. There is an argument that it’s OK to check your emails if it helps you feel less anxious while on holiday, and if it’s a choice rather than a chore – at least, according to the survey done by Jessica de Bloom and Sarah Pressman. But the majority of research supports what our intuition would probably tell us: the more detached we are from work in the off-job hours, the more satisfied with our lives we are, and the better we actually perform our work.

Maybe it’s also not surprising that 44% of employees think about quit during vacation, according to Korn Ferry consultancy. This is supported by the resignation statistic: it turns out, the highest number of resignations falls on August, followed closely by September and October. Speaking from personal experience, I resigned from my 2 of the last 3 positions exactly in this window.

What is it that makes employees reassess their career objectives?Often, it has to do with more free time – to think about the long-term career goals, about where you are with your life, often also about relationships. You also get more energy to look around, and maybe even have a few conversations with other companies or recruiters. And, going back to working on holidays – there is a direct correlation between picking up work tasks while off and the likelihood of resigning.

What does it mean for managers who don’t want to lose their employees after summer holidays? Banning holidays is probably not legal in most countries, so there should be another way to prevent the seasonal churn. A Harvard Business Review article suggests a few great steps to battle the post-vacation blues:

??Brace Yourself for Re-Entry??

Sounds like you’re returning from space – you’re entering the familiar atmosphere, but the speed and shock can obliterate you. Keep reminding yourself – it’s OK to feel sad, and overwhelmed, and out of your depth first few days. You’ll need to re-establish your old routines, so allow yourself more time, plan your meetings in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you, and don’t blame yourself for being slow to do some tasks. Sometimes, you need to reload the whole system before you can operate as you did before the break.

??Start Slow and Small??

You may be tempted to use your new energy to deal with the biggest and most unpleasant or frustrating tasks, maybe all at once. Maybe you delayed them till you’re back, and you have no excuse now. This may feel like stepping under a cold shower – unnecessarily stressful, if virtuous. You may also feel FOMO after being away, and want to join multiple projects and initiatives. A more sensible approach is to start with setting up smaller, achievable goals for the first week or two after holidays. It’ll give you a positive feeling of having achieved something, and confidence to move to something more daunting.

??Focus on What you Like about your Job??

The idea is that you remind yourself of the activities you enjoy most, and about the purpose or positive impact your job has. When you plan your list of smaller tasks to start with, pick out the ones that will give you more joy. Remind yourself why you started this job in the first place, prioritize what you love, knowing that it will help you regain the excitement about the work you do.

Of course, it could be that you did all the things above, and you still have that heavy feeling at the bottom of your stomach. Maybe it is really the sign that you should move on, and see what’s on the market. It’s important to ask yourself, if you can still grow in this the role you have, whether the environment makes you happy, and whether you trust the leadership to do the right thing. Ethical complications and mental health issues are other indicators that the place may not be the right one for you.

While people often think summer is a bad time to look for a new job, a lot of recruiters see it as a time of opportunity. Summer often coincides with the beginning of a financial year or quarter in companies, which usually means new hiring budgets. Plus, with fewer candidates available for interviews, you can have better chances to get selected. If you’re working with agency recruiters, they’ll have more interest in getting you placed because they need to meet same targets with fewer people available on the market. Finally, summer is a great time to network: a lot of industry events happen over the warmer months. Longer days and better weather naturally create more opportunities to go out and meet new people – some of them can be your future colleagues.

Hope you all are enjoying the last days of summer – and I’d like to hear your post-holiday job change stories!