You have probably already heard about post-holiday blues and the impact it has on employee motivation in the workplace. Returning after the holidays requires a great deal of adapting to schedules, routines, and work. In psychology, post-holiday syndrome is defined as a mix of anxiety and emotional pressure that occurs upon returning to work after an extended time away. Otherwise known as the post-holiday blues, the syndrome is mainly characterised by a poor attitude towards work and a lack of focus.
Many employees who suffer from this type of stress also experience psychological and/or physical disorders that accompany them. A common complaint from employees is that after their holidays they are either sleeping poorly, or not much at all. Many workers express the change in routine following holidays and the high pressure that follows a return to work, responsible for accentuating post-holiday stress.
- 5 tips for fighting post-holiday stress
- Factorial’s Time Off Manager Feature
- ✔️Register here for FREE to manage Employee Holidays Better!
If you want to reduce the impact of post-holiday syndrome, apply these top 5 tips for fighting post-holiday stress. These tips are also great to increase employee motivation during this time of uncertainty. As many employees are slowly starting to return back to the office after an extended period of remote working during the lockdown period, it will undoubtedly be hard to adapt back to the old way of work again. Therefore, spreading positivity around the office and staying connected will help ease stress and anxiety during this time.
I recommend you follow these 5 easy tips. We already used them at Factorial and they work!
5 tips to fight post-holiday stress to improve employee motivation
1. Welcome the workers
There’s nothing like coming back to the office and finding a little something waiting for you on your desk.. A welcome letter, a sweet treat or breakfast with your coworkers is a great way to start the day with enthusiasm. It’s the small things like this that add to an employee’s emotional salary and lead to a positive vision of their work environment.
2. Organise a team meeting
Returning after a holiday and expecting to be 100% productive isn’t always easy. It takes time to adjust back, catch up on what’s happened while you were away and to access your pending tasks. The best thing you can do to set yourself up for a successful week is to organise a brief team meeting to clear up any questions-concerns that have come up. Organise your tasks the first day, to avoid an overwhelming feeling in the days and weeks to follow.
3. Not everything has to be done on the first day
Take advantage of a team meeting to plan the days and weeks following the holidays. Surely not everything has a high priority. Working in excess is the best way to intensify the post-holiday syndrome, stress, and anguish. Take it easy, breathe and remember, you don’t have to tackle everything on the first day; if you try, you’ll be spinning your wheels.
4. Offer employees time & space
It’s normal that the rhythm is different to normal and that employees need more breaks during the first few days back at work. Make sure that everyone has enough time to transition. Pro tip -offer small activities or lunch meetings, to allow your employees moments of relaxation or to disconnect.
5. Positivity fuels the ship
Team leaders must maintain positivity in the team and support their team, not only with their workload but on an emotional level to some extent. Without proper guidance and support, your employees may become overwhelmed after they return to work. As a boss, you should also be intuitive and sensitive to this transition, as it isn’t always an easy one. Everyone has emotional episodes and difficulties transitioning after the holidays, try your best to communicate with your employees more at this time rather than ignore them.
Factorial’s Time Off Manager Feature
Here at Factorial, we offer a software to help you manage employee holidays all in one place. The software allows you to see exactly who is out of the office during certain dates and when they will return. The leave management software means employees can request holidays through Factorial without the need to exchange emails, which often lead to confusion and are difficult to refer back to when managing a lot of workers. The person in charge of Human Resources can easily accept or deny all these requests and see in real time if there is any overlap with another employee’s holidays or sick leave. Now we have simplified all your processes, you can be sure to welcome employees back from their holiday leave and use our 5 tips to increase motivation and productivity in the workforce!
