Tips for returning from a vacation - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Tips for returning from a vacation - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog The summer holidays are ending and as you or your colleagues return to work, its worth taking a moment to think about the best way to ease back into your job. Sometimes it seems as if all the energy youve gained on your vacation disappears very quickly, so heres some tips on how to keep that good mood a little longer. There are tips both for people who are returning from vacations and for their co-workers. Five tips for when you start work after a holiday: 1: Get away on your vacation If you take a holiday, TAKE A HOLIDAY. Leave the company mobile phone at home and dont read company emails. Get away from it all and let your brain do something completely different. 2: Allow yourself to fall behind When you get back to work youll be behind almost as a matter of course. Therell be loads of emails in your inbox, phone calls to return, decisions that are getting urgent or tasks that simply havent been done. Its unavoidable, and its not your fault. So dont expect to be on top of things on your first day back. Allow yourself to be behind and to slowly catch up. 3: Start with the easy tasks Dont throw yourself at the hardest, most complex tasks straight away. If you have some simple, easy, straight-forward tasks then tackle those first to ease yourself back into work. Once youre back up to speed, you can go for the difficult stuff. 4: Work normal hours Its tempting to work longer days right after a vacation to catch up with the extra workload. DONT. Work normal hours, and remember point 2. 5: Ask for help if you need it Ask your co-workers or your boss for help if you need it. Its important that you become aware of whether you need anything and that you can clearly state your needs. The companys tasks are not your responsibility alone, but it IS your responsibility to ask for help if needed. Five tips for when colleagues return from vacation: 1: Ask about their vacation Ask your co-worker about his/her vacation and share the enthusiasm. 2: Give them time Dont throw new tasks at them from day one. Give them time to get back up to speed. 3: Dont infect them with stress People returning from vacations are more relaxed and happy. Allow them to be that and anjoy it yourself, rather than spreading your stress to them. 4: Offer help Workers returning after a vacation may have a back-log of work. Offer your help. 5: No guilt trips Its tempting to let people feel, that the company/department/project is behind because theyve been vacationing. DONT! People need holidays and if your colleagues have nice vacations and return to work in the right way theyll have so much more energy that youll catch up eventually. Have an excellent vacation and an excellent return to work! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related