Seven expert tips for avoiding stress after returning from vacation

2024-08-22 14:53:16

Philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill Once explained why he did not take holiday :

“No vacations are allowed,” he explained, “for fear of losing work habits and developing lazy habits.»

Indeed, we tend to feel “instant stress” when we return to work. All the benefits of a break, thanks to a more relaxed lifestyle, are likely to disappear as soon as you walk through the office door.

Stress is an accelerator of disease

Whether we work in an office or remotely, our work environments are often frenetic, hyperactive, and even exhausting. In the 1970s, two prominent American cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman, defined the consequences of most work environments as “Hurry sickness”disease accelerator.

In a recent study Health and Safety Director Of all sick days taken in the UK, 51% appear to be related to “stress, depression or anxiety”. 55% of all workdays lost due to illness are believed to be due to the same reason. In short, work is often stressful and requires periods of rest, relaxation and recovery.

How can we learn to manage the stress of returning to the office to maintain the benefits of time off (especially in the summer) and avoid falling into the trap of returning stressed? Here are seven suggestions from a professor of organizational and health psychology.

1. Reconnect with colleagues

When you return to work in the morning, use the first hour, if you can, to reconnect with your coworkers. Use this time to share your vacation memories or other good times. Work can build positive and meaningful relationships. However, this important role plays a vital role in maintaining our health and well-being.

2. Control workload

Avoid replying to all emails immediately. If having a full inbox causes an immediate stress response, trying to reply to all emails on the same day of recovery means overloading yourself with work, which may cause you to send inadequate responses, which will ultimately cause you problems.

For example, you might be more abrupt than usual, even rude, and the recipient might get angry. First calmly review all emails and only respond to the urgent ones. Leave the rest for another day.



3. Take a short break

Make sure to take coffee or tea breaks and eat lunch every day during your first week back. If you work in an office, take your breaks with different coworkers. For lunch, try to get out of the office and eat lunch in a park or other outdoor location.

4. Go home on time and avoid working long hours

When you get home, be active. Don’t be in front of the TV. Go to the gym, go for a run, or go out to a restaurant with family or friends. Let the holiday cheer permeate your home.


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5. Don’t hold too many meetings

Many people find their jobs to be intense and fast-paced. Friedman and Rosenman Explain in their work Type A Behavior and Your Heart People end up becoming “addicted to time” during their careers and beyond.

When you get back, don’t organize a bunch of meetings to show everyone else that once you’ve packed up, you’re there, there, functioning as always. Don’t try to tackle everything in your “to do” box in 48 hours!

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6. Be tolerant of your colleagues

Coworkers who constantly complain and claim that problems can’t be solved can be a source of stress, especially when you’re coming back from a nice, relaxing vacation. Try to be patient, tolerant…listen to their abuse without taking it seriously and keep your distance.

7. Set realistic work goals

Finally, avoid setting unrealistic deadlines and making unnecessary appointments. Politely say no to anything you can’t accomplish in your first week back.

Journalist and essayist Studs Terkel wrote in his famous book Working :

“Work is a search for a daily meaning, beyond earning daily bread, recognition, salary, surprise and not numbness. In short, from Monday to Friday, it is not so much a search for death as a search for life. »

If vacation is a chance to recover from the stress generated by the contemporary working world, then it is crucial to allow this mentality to trickle down to the workplace once you return to the office.

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