5 tips for a smooth return to work after your holidays
23 August 2013
Read by 1610 persons
Holidays are always too short. With a tan, your suitcase still unpacked, and that summer tune still in your head, it's already time to go back to work... How to ease back in?
Getting back into your work after a break can take time. The recruitment firm Robert Half interviewed 200 French HR managers. Results: barely 20% of French people get straight back into their work, while 70% of workers need 1 to 4 days to get back into it. 6% even take a whole week!
One thing's for sure: getting back to work isn't fun. Here are 5 tips for a smoother restart.
1. Recover a rhythm
During your holidays, did you get used to waking up at noon and going to bed in the early hours? You were so right. But returning to 9 am-6 pm office hours could be rough, or downright depressing. To lessen the shock, gently get used to this morning rhythm the week before your return to the office: gradually, set your alarm a little earlier each day and take inspiration from our 8 tips for getting out of bed easily.
2. Prepare your things
Remember your primary school years: the day before going back to school, the only thing that lessened your distress was contemplating your new colored pencils and notebooks neatly arranged in your brand-new Kipling backpack. Years later, nothing has changed: being prepared will save you a lot of stress. Prepare all your things the day before, from the contents of your briefcase to your outfit and your parking card, and make sure you have breakfast in the fridge.
3. Arrive early
You know perfectly well that your first few hours at the office won't be very cheerful. Between your overflowing mailbox, the Post-it notes piled up on your screen, and the malicious colleagues who will point out that you aren't tanned, it's better to get a head start. Arrive before everyone else, and use these calm moments to calmly get back into the swing of things.
4. Sort your emails
Suddenly, it's a disaster: your mailbox shows 1254 unread emails. Instead of giving up and crying, try to proceed methodically. Delete all uninteresting newsletters, press releases, and other weather reports without opening them. Then, create folders: file all emails with a red exclamation mark in 'urgent', informal emails in 'personal', etc. When several emails have been exchanged in the same conversation, delete them and keep only the very last one, which summarizes the entire exchange.
5. Get up to date
The accountant was fired, Solange became project manager, and the ficus changed places: you're a bit overwhelmed. After a long absence, you'll certainly feel like you've missed a lot. So plan a lunch with your colleagues to catch up and get back up to speed on company life. Gossip can be good.
References.be
Posted on August 23, 2013.
Getting back into your work after a break can take time. The recruitment firm Robert Half interviewed 200 French HR managers. Results: barely 20% of French people get straight back into their work, while 70% of workers need 1 to 4 days to get back into it. 6% even take a whole week!
One thing's for sure: getting back to work isn't fun. Here are 5 tips for a smoother restart.
1. Recover a rhythm
During your holidays, did you get used to waking up at noon and going to bed in the early hours? You were so right. But returning to 9 am-6 pm office hours could be rough, or downright depressing. To lessen the shock, gently get used to this morning rhythm the week before your return to the office: gradually, set your alarm a little earlier each day and take inspiration from our 8 tips for getting out of bed easily.
2. Prepare your things
Remember your primary school years: the day before going back to school, the only thing that lessened your distress was contemplating your new colored pencils and notebooks neatly arranged in your brand-new Kipling backpack. Years later, nothing has changed: being prepared will save you a lot of stress. Prepare all your things the day before, from the contents of your briefcase to your outfit and your parking card, and make sure you have breakfast in the fridge.
3. Arrive early
You know perfectly well that your first few hours at the office won't be very cheerful. Between your overflowing mailbox, the Post-it notes piled up on your screen, and the malicious colleagues who will point out that you aren't tanned, it's better to get a head start. Arrive before everyone else, and use these calm moments to calmly get back into the swing of things.
4. Sort your emails
Suddenly, it's a disaster: your mailbox shows 1254 unread emails. Instead of giving up and crying, try to proceed methodically. Delete all uninteresting newsletters, press releases, and other weather reports without opening them. Then, create folders: file all emails with a red exclamation mark in 'urgent', informal emails in 'personal', etc. When several emails have been exchanged in the same conversation, delete them and keep only the very last one, which summarizes the entire exchange.
5. Get up to date
The accountant was fired, Solange became project manager, and the ficus changed places: you're a bit overwhelmed. After a long absence, you'll certainly feel like you've missed a lot. So plan a lunch with your colleagues to catch up and get back up to speed on company life. Gossip can be good.
References.be
Posted on August 23, 2013.
