Ease Back Into Work After Vacation

Workers in various fields and industries know what it's like to come back to their posts after a relaxing and enjoyable time off the job. It seems like a simple thing, but coming back to work after a vacation (or other leave, like maternity or family emergency leave) can actually be difficult. Human resources experts identify this as one of the challenges of the average job. Some of these professionals also have time-tested tips for helping people ease back into work after vacation, and stay productive in the days following a lengthy sabbatical.

Steps

Planning Ahead

1. Make the last day before your vacation a low-key day, set aside to fix any mistakes. Don't finish major projects on your last day. If you have last-minute problems, then you'll be able to take care of them before you go on vacation. You don't want to inhibit the work of others, cut into your vacation, or leave anything unfinished when you go.
   • If it is not possible to finish a project, write up a plan for how you intend to work on the project upon your return.
2. Let your coworkers know you'll be gone. You may have put in the proper paperwork, formally requesting time off, but your co-workers might not know that you're leaving. By letting them know you're going on vacation, you give them a chance to coordinate with you. They might have something they need you to do, and by letting them know ahead of time, you avoid tying up the work of others.
3. Do some extra work before you go. If you work a little harder before you go on vacation, you can get ahead of yourself. That way you won't have more to do when you get back. If you do a lot of work before you go, you might even be able to give yourself an easy first week back.
4. Plan half-days if you can, to avoid having to miss a full day of work. If you're leaving for vacation on a Friday, don't take the whole day off if you don't have to. It might be a little bit of extra hassle to work half a day and then travel, but it can lighten the load when you get back.
5. Give yourself a pre-vacation, so that you're ready to totally unplug while you're away. This will help you to fully make use of your time off. It will also enhance your anticipation, which can increase vacation satisfaction. The last thing you want is to go on vacation, but feel like you can't help but think of work. It is hard to break the habit of thinking about what you have to do all the time, but if you don't give your brain a break, you won't get the benefit of the time off.
   • Take a day to turn off your electronics. This can get you ready to disconnect for your time off.
   • Go to a day spa, to prepare yourself to relax.
   • Schedule a weekend where you can practice not thinking about work.
6. Delegate tasks to other people. Sometimes people feel that they are the only ones who can do their job. Sometimes people feel they have to do everything themselves. When you're going on vacation it may be necessary to let go of this mentality. Give some tasks that you might normally do to other people. A well-staffed business should be more than capable of absorbing your workload.

Vacationing Right

1. Limit your work time. Some people have to remain somewhat connected while they're on vacation. If you're unable to fully break away from work when you're off, limit your work to a small window of time. Take an hour in the morning to do some minor work-related things. But just make sure that you're limiting how much access you have at work during other times of the day.
2. Forget about keeping up on correspondences. Ignore your e-mail. Avoid sending out a text to check in on your co-workers. Working on vacation measurably reduces the benefit of your time off.
   • Turn on the auto-response feature on your e-mail, so you can automatically reply to correspondences with a message informing people you will not be in the office. This is your first line of defense.
   • Set your voicemail to explain that you're on vacation.
   • Ask a coworker to keep you updated if you know someone who doesn't mind the task, that way you can look at all the e-mails right before you go back, but you don't feel the need to constantly check.
   • Make sure to tell people when you're going to be back.
3. Adjust your sleep schedule. Our sleep habits tend to drift on vacation. Make sure you go to bed at the same time you do when you have to go to work. Do this a couple days leading up to the end of your time off. If you're not on vacation very long, then make sure you don't get off your sleep schedule. If it proves difficult to immediately adjust back to your normal habits, do it slowly, adjusting in smaller increments.
   • Divide the difference in hours between your vacation sleep time and your work day sleep time over the number of days you intend to adjust your sleep schedule.
   • If you normally go to be at 11:00pm, but you're finding yourself up until 3am during your vacation, you will have four hours to adjust.
   • With two days to change your schedule, go to sleep two hours earlier the first day, at 1am. Then, on the second day go to bed two hours earlier than that, at 11pm.
   • This will be an easier transition the more days you give yourself to recover.
4. Enjoy your vacation. Though the positive benefits on health and well-being from going on vacation fade quickly, it is crucial to use your time off for its intended purpose. Vacation does a lot to keep you healthy, both physically and mentally. If you're not taking advantage of your time off to relax, you're not really letting yourself be on vacation.

Easing Yourself Back to Work

1. Come home early. Give yourself a couple days to adjust to your daily life. Many times people come back from vacation, they wind up feeling like they need a vacation from their vacation. Avoid this exhaustion by giving yourself a few days to relax at home before you get back to work.
2. Take it easy. Don't throw yourself in full-force, or double-time. This can be a shock, and cause you to become overly stressed. If you fry yourself working too hard, you'll hurt the quality of your work. The quality and quantity of leisure time post-vacation can help lessen the decline in health and well-being benefits from your vacation.
3. Limit access. Don't go work a double-shift on your first day back. Don't spend time outside of your hours doing extra work. First days back can be difficult. It can be hard to focus and you might find yourself easily exhausted by tasks. By limiting how much time and access you give yourself to work activities, you can make sure you don't burn yourself out. This can impact your productivity and the quality of your work.
4. Work harder in the middle of the week. Though your first day can be rough, you will still be experiencing the positive benefits of your vacation on your first day off. These will rapidly decline back down to baseline by the end of the week. Use the boost in the middle of the week, so that you can take it easy on Friday, leave a little early, or even come in just a half day.
5. Catch up on communications. Make sure you contact all the necessary people right away. Find out what you missed while you were away. Get the news from people. Socializing can be a great way to get work done, without taxing yourself too much. It will also help ensure that you do not miss out on anything important.

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Sources and Citations

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