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The feeling of lightness, freedom, returning to oneself, peace … most often we experience it during the holidays. How, when returning to work, is it better to use this “vacation capital”? Expert advice.
Key figures
- 72% of actively working Russians are satisfied with their jobs*, in particular:
- 74% are satisfied with what they do every day;
- 79% – relations with the administration of the enterprise (company);
- 93% – relationships with colleagues.
*According to the poll conducted by VTsIOM in 46 regions of Russia in April 2007.
When vacation days come to an end, even for those of us who are basically satisfied with our professional activities and official position, it is not always easy to reorganize and get back to work. Almost a third of Europeans employed by public and private companies experience the so-called post-holiday syndrome: physical ailment (fatigue, headaches and muscle pain), psychological discomfort*. And this is not surprising, because during the vacation weeks we strive not only to relax, but also to do what we don’t have time for the rest of the year: chat with friends we haven’t seen for a long time, see places that we have long dreamed of, devote time to our hobby. All this brings us back to our natural rhythm, inclinations, interests. But here we are again crossing the threshold of the office … and, according to the psychologist and business coach Larisa Buzalo, it takes us from three to ten days to adapt after the holidays – to rebuild the rhythm of life, get used to the work schedule and business style of communication again. What should be dealt with to facilitate this process? How to start this new segment of our working life with the greatest benefit for ourselves? Here are the opinions of several experts.
1. Change your attitude towards work
“The more active and interesting the vacation was … the more difficult it is to get out of it,” says Larisa Buzalo. The amount of time it takes to adapt after rest depends largely on how much we feel that we are doing our job, we enjoy it. “If this is the case, adaptation is faster and more organic, and the end of the vacation is perceived as the beginning of a new interesting stage in life,” explains Larisa Buzalo. “If we do not get satisfaction from our professional activities, then there may be problems with adaptation.” In the latter case, a person is faced with an internal conflict: the need to get to work struggles in his soul with the desire to drop everything and leave. By the way, it is often after a vacation that a decision is made to change activities or dismissal “to nowhere”.
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“It is worth taking the advice of Confucius, who said: “Do what you love to do, and there will not be a single working day in your life,” comments Doctor of Psychology, business coach Alexei Sitnikov. “Although, of course, such luck does not come to everyone. If the work does not bring pleasure and you perceive it as a heavy burden, try to change your attitude towards it. Ask yourself: “What does she give me?” And try to find at least two positive answers. After all, in any case, your stay in this place is an accumulation of experience that can be useful in the future, and the money you earn can be spent on hobbies or travel. And try to treat your duties as a process of self-education, knowledge of yourself and the people around you.
2. Do not overload the office with emotions
“Very often we (unnecessarily) put too much emotion into our work,” says psychoanalyst Jean-Claude Liaudet. – We spend most of our time on it, and therefore there is always a temptation to unwittingly equate our life and professional activities. As a result, we forget about our own needs and interests, about personal life, that there are theaters and museums, playing sports, talking with friends. Literally giving ourselves to work, in return we unconsciously expect gratitude, recognition, sympathy from the enterprise (and its management). Jean-Claude Liauet explains: “We tend to unconsciously bring into the office relationships similar to those we had as children with our parents.” But still, we should stop humanizing the enterprise, the psychoanalyst advises. It is in our interests to establish a reasonable and precise distance between ourselves and our work, to form an emotionally mature attitude towards it: yes, I like it, but internally I am independent.
3. Express your needs
The start of a new “working season” is a good time to try to correct what does not suit us in the organization of our activities. “I have to take overtime all the time – I can’t refuse my boss”, “I hesitate to ask to work at home for a day if I feel bad.” Such situations become a source of unpleasant emotions – they offend or annoy us.
“However, most often we don’t risk anything serious if we diplomatically but clearly tell the boss about our needs or say “no” in response to a request that we consider impossible,” Larisa Buzalo is sure. – At work, as in any other place, it is always advantageous to say what you think. It is only necessary to follow certain rules: to say “no” only when we are ready to explain the reasons for our refusal, otherwise it may be perceived as a neglect of our duties or a manifestation of disrespect. It’s important to stay within the partnership, which means we have to make a good case for why we don’t take on additional responsibility (for example, because we’re currently working on a project that’s due in two days).” In addition, it is necessary to plan your working day in such a way that our words do not seem like a deceit – the manager must see that we are really busy. Thus, you can almost always defend your interests. Anyway, worth a try!
4. Resolve conflicts
“Explicit or hidden conflicts in the team that arise due to a clash of interests between two or more employees is another reason why sometimes you don’t feel like going to work at all,” Alexey Sitnikov believes. “Most often they arise due to a fuzzy distribution of responsibilities: who performs what functions, who is responsible for what, who replaces an absent colleague.” Annoyance accumulates … and we suddenly find ourselves in the epicenter of a showdown. If something does not suit us or worries us a lot, we should immediately discuss it with colleagues. As soon as we take a step towards clarifying the situation, the conflict moves from confrontation to the search for a compromise. Strong emotions that we carry in ourselves go away, and then it is already easier to find a constructive way out of the situation.
“If you nevertheless become one of the participants in the conflict and they make claims against you, try to divide the criticism against you into information (what exactly your colleague is dissatisfied with) and emotions,” advises Aleksey Sitnikov. – Emotions are better to ignore, but the information needs to be analyzed and corrected that deserves objective criticism. The second important rule is to never turn the conversation from the subject of the conflict to the personal qualities of your opponent.
“Strive for a balance between personal and professional life”
Psychologies: Why do we often feel bad after a vacation?
Patrik Amar: 75% of the modern economy is an intangible sphere, and therefore, psychological risk is increasingly replacing physical risk. Our attitude to our company, to the people with whom we work side by side, is emotionally very intense. And there is a great temptation to shift the responsibility for any of their uncomfortable feelings to the enterprise: annoyance, disappointment, dissatisfaction.
Is it possible to say that we should perceive our enterprise, firm as a kind of partner, without internally uniting ourselves with it?
P.A.: Yes, but with a caveat. The risk of being too distant is that you can turn into a mercenary. Keeping a distance, do not forget about the important aspects of your life – the need to realize yourself and develop in the profession. Emotional connections with colleagues are equally important.
If everyone maintains only aloof, cold, functional relationships, the atmosphere will quickly become unbearable. What should everyone do?
P.A.: It is worth building a comfortable distance between yourself and your work. Our work, professional activity is perhaps the most essential part of our life. It is here that we spend most of our time, realize our potential and social ambitions, and here we earn the means to live. Therefore, the danger is so great to put an equal sign between your life and work. But it is just as wrong to give it no importance at all as to give it all your time and energy. In general, you need to strive for what is called work-life balance in Anglo-Saxon culture – a balance between life in the profession and private life – hobbies, relationships, culture, spiritual interests. I would like all of us – both managers and those led – to finally realize that an employee who lives well is also an employee who works better!
5. Demonstrate a good mood
“Strict discipline, restraint in communication, focus on results — more and more companies are working according to this (“Western”) model, notes Alexey Sitnikov. “As a result, very formal relations develop in the team, and everything that is not directly related to work remains outside the brackets.” Friendliness, humor, a cup of coffee with a nice person – this is what most employees of such companies dream of. But in order to effectively cope with their duties, many of us need friendly relations, an atmosphere of openness, the opportunity to participate in the internal life of the enterprise. Therefore, at work, we should not give up those human values that are so important for us at home and among friends. Of course, we are not talking about emotionally burdening those around us. But still remember about human relationships, share a good mood with each other!
About it
- Brian Tracy “Find the Job of Your Dreams” Omega-L, 2008.21 advice from an experienced business coach for those who want to not only make a career, but also realize themselves in work.
- Kenneth Klock, Joan Goldsmith “Conflicts at work” Pretext, 2007. American experts offer different ways to successfully overcome disagreements in the team.
- Julia Morgenstern “Technology of effective work” Kind book, 2006. Nine key self-organization skills developed by the author allow you to change your thinking and behavior so that you can do everything and free up time for yourself.
*According to a study conducted by psychologists at the University of Granada (Spain) in June 2007. For more details, see the university website –