Introduction
Whether you are thinking of relaxing in the woods or soaking up the history of the old European cities, excitement fills up the weeks leading to your vacation from work. But the worst part is returning to work/office after a holiday or a leave you might have taken for personal or health-related reasons.
Regardless of why you are taking extended time off from work, returning to the swing of things can always be challenging. The good news is that with some planning, you can easily ensure work does not pile up on your desk or even on your mind when you are back in the office.
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How Do You Prepare Yourself for Returning to Work/office?
It can be challenging to prepare yourself for returning to work full-time after a long time. But take time to prepare correctly, and step back into your professional role with great confidence. Here, our expert tips will be:
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Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
After a long gap, returning to work can be scary, but it is also exciting. So, get out of your comfort zone and return to work with confidence and excitement.
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Schedule a Buffer Day
Before returning to work, plan a buffer day to complete all your activities like doing the laundry, grabbing groceries, sleeping off the jet lag and getting the children back on schedule. Getting rid of these personal ducks will help you get back to work stress-free.
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Set Your Priorities
It would not be possible to make up for all the days of work you were on leave on the very first day. So, make a list of priorities and complete them one after the other.
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Experts
Banani Das Dhar
India
Wellness Expert
Experience: 7 years
Devika Gupta
India
Wellness Expert
Experience: 4 years
Trupti Rakesh valotia
India
Wellness Expert
Experience: 3 years
Sarvjeet Kumar Yadav
India
Wellness Expert
Experience: 15 years
What Are the Effects of Returning to Work/Office?
Anxiety and burnout are common effects of returning to work/office after a long time. Regular life in a physical workplace can be overwhelming. So, implement a period of complete reintegration to get back to work at ease.
Besides that, the following actions are essential:
- Slowly easing into socialisation
- Creating space for undisturbed work
- Planning out recovery time
The physical office can also hurt your mental health after a long time, making you take less responsibility. The negative impact on mental health associated with the transition can also result in depression and anxiety.
The best is to take the help of counselling, therapies, and different programs specifically designed to deal with mental health issues, anxiety and depression.
What Are the Challenges of Returning to Work /Office after a Long Absence?
The challenges of returning to work /office after a long absence are as follows:
- The workplace might not be the same when you return to work after a long time. Managers and old friends who were there with you previously might have changed job roles with time. It can change your work dynamics altogether.
- Another challenge associated with returning to the office after a long time is a change in feelings. Your feelings about working at the office might not be the same, and you might even have to struggle to fit in or adapt to somewhere where you once loved working.
- The change in the office layout can also hamper your productivity to a considerable extent.
- When a person returns to the office after maternity or paternity leave, the biggest challenge is that the hours might be completely different than what they were earlier. They might struggle with the change in work volume. Managing time between work and childcare can seem straightforward but only on paper. The reality is that stress, logistics and exhaustion can be overwhelming.
- If you are returning to work after a long period of absence because of some illness, you might require a lot of adjustments, phased return and re-training as well.
- A team member’s confidence might be lower than usual based on their time away from the office.
- When you start working from home there is a difference between a home and an office environment. Sometimes it is not possible to maintain timing and you have to struggle to concentrate to do work.
Five Helpful Tips to Overcome Challenges of Returning to Work /Office
You can overcome the challenges of returning to work /office after a long gap by following our tips:
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Stay Connected
Taking leave means completely disconnecting yourself from work so you have some ‘me time to spend with your friends and family. But do not disconnect yourself completely. Keep checking emails a few times during the week and even speak with colleagues on the phone to know everything that’s happening at the office while you are away.
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Ramp Up
Before returning to work, contact your clients, supervisors and co-workers. Speak about how excited you are about getting back to work; ask for the details of ongoing assignments and the personal and professional things you have been doing during this time. Spend time with them, sometimes you may go for lunch with your colleagues.
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Take it Easy
The main idea is to be easy on yourself. Be it whatever vision of returning to work- try to remain as flexible as possible.
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Say NO Comfortably
Saying no to new projects and clients when you return to work after a long time is fine. Always mention this beforehand instead of disappointing clients by taking up work and not delivering it on time.
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Reevaluate
Take some time to understand your skills and things to excel in your career. Reevaluate your experience and passion for working on projects so you can carve out more time for the same.
- Work-life balance Sometimes you have to spend time with your family and friends. It will help you to balance your life. This work-life balance is the most important to overcome challenges.
- You have to take care of your physical and mental health. There are work tension anxiety depression and other mental issues that we have to overcome to maintain healthy mental health.
Conclusion
So, this is everything you should know about returning to work after a long time. Follow these essential tips and steps to make the return a more positive and less stressful experience. Yes, we understand that even after following the directions, the work pressure and environment can hamper your mental health. You can face anxiety and fear, leading to depression if not addressed correctly.
But do not worry, as United We Care is here to help you. Our online mental health and wellness platform offers counselling and therapy sessions to help people cope with emotional and cognitive issues. We have professional therapists and counsellors who can talk to you to understand your problems and assess them properly to give you apt treatment and guidance. We will also provide you with different ways to prevent mental pressure or anxiety so that you can live and work happily in the long run.
| [1] | L. Magnussen, S. Nilsen, and M. Råheim, “Barriers against returning to workDisabil. Rehabil., vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 191–197, 2007. |
| [2] | K. Aarnio et al., “Return to work after ischemic stroke in young adults: A registry-based follow-up study,” Neurology, vol. 91, no. 20, pp. e1909–e1917, 2018. |
| [3] | M. Odéen, L. O. Kristensen, and H. Ursin, “Coping and return to work: Measurement and theoretical issues,” Nor. Epidemiol., vol. 19, no. 2, 2010. |
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