MORE BRITS SUFFER FROM POST-HOLIDAY BLUES YEAR-ON-YEAR

Words by: Octavia Coates

And five tips from a top work psychologist on making

a return to work easier

Feeling a bit depressed returning to work or school after the summer holidays? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.

Award-winning travel search site momondo.co.uk discovered a whopping 65% of us feel sad or in low spirits, when fun in the sun is replaced by the everyday commute. This figure is up by 4% from last year.

Perhaps more significant is that more women (70%) are affected in this way than compared to men (58%).

In fact, across the 22 countries questioned, Brits were almost the most depressed nation, with only the Polish feeling more glum (67%) when back from holidays – far more than the international average (47%).

”The pattern is probably familiar to all of us. The long-awaited summer break seems to vanish into thin air, and then busy seasons of autumn and Christmas seem just around the corner. However, it’s notable that even as the feeling of post-holiday blues is common, almost a third of Brits (31%) also report they have never felt sad upon returning from holiday. So admittedly it’s not all doom and gloom for our nation this week in the workplace”, UK spokesperson for momondo, Neil James Cartwright comments.

We take extra days off to combat the post-holiday blues

Almost a quarter of Brits (22%) head back to the office immediately after their vacation, whereas 25% take an extra day or two off from the office to give themselves time to adjust to being back home. Dreaming about being back on holiday (23%) and sleeping in a little longer than usual (11%) are two common remedies utilized to help ease the blues. One highly effective trick is to start planning for your next holiday, giving you something new to look forward to, and to take your mind off the realities of being back in your daily routine. 21% of Brits state that this method has helped them overcome the post-holiday blues.

Other nationalities use the same measures to soften the landing back to work. After the holiday the majority of all respondents (63%) look at the pictures taken on holiday, and more than every third (42%) person is reminded of their recent trip by an item they bought. Every fifth (20%) respondent even recreates some traditional local foods in their own kitchen.

5 WAYS TO MAKE RETURNING TO WORK EASIER

Top work psychologist Annamari Heikkilä points out that while taking summer leave is totally fine, she also calls for fresh and inspiring perspectives to your everyday life.

Here are her five tips for returning to work.

1. Identify your thoughts and feelings. It’s ok that the end of your vacation it’s a little bit sad and you’re not feeling so creative yet. Don’t fight back, just breathe deeply and let them go.

2. Who wouldn’t want to be always on holiday? A holiday is a wonderful reward after busy days at work and planning your next holiday can be started right away. However, its’s worth remembering that work itself, achievements and your colleagues are also an important part of your well-being.

3. How did you do it last time? Is it possible to start a little bit lighter, make a few shorter workdays or start with the easiest tasks? Do remember that there’s still a tiny bit of summer left. If you have nice plans for the evening also the work will be much more fun.

4. Make a list. What are the good things at your work and the trickiest ones? Could you make some things a little bit different or make better use of your existing strengths?

5. Set concrete goals. Complete your work bit by bit in bite-size chunks so you can tick them off as finished, helping you feel like you are accomplishing tasks and progressing throughout the day. When you break your day down into smaller chunks, you’ll find that the work day starts to run by surprisingly fast! Remember to talk to your colleagues as well, this will help take your mind off your last holiday, and will help pass the time more quickly.