Beating the “back-to-work blues” – as a team
Having time off work is great.
It’s great to relax, to put your feet up, to lounge in a hammock, to have an afternoon snooze, to read a book, to listen to the radio and just chill.
It’s great to go on adventures, to experience new places and meet new people, to sail, surf, bike and climb; to fearlessly step out of comfort zones we’ve built up over time.
It’s great to spend time with family and friends, to laugh out loud, to cry together, to support each other, to eat and drink and simply enjoy being together.
And going back to work should feel great too.
No matter how your holiday has been and what you’ve done, it sometimes feels difficult or at least a bit strange going to back work again. If this is how you feel, you may have a spell of the “back-to-work blues”.
This subject is heavily discussed everywhere at the moment; morning TV, newspapers and radio channels. Advice on how to tackle this “illness” is overflowing.
Let’s add our take on it, from a team perspective of course.
Imagine if everyone comes back to work, not really wanting to be there, dragging their feet, only reminiscing about the time off and counting the days, weeks, months to the next time. This can be very contagious and not the most uplifting of environments to be in, I’m sure you would agree!
So what can you do?
Well, you don’t need to be alone in this. Most people exist in some kind of team(s). Start by getting together as a team. Spend some time together, have a coffee, have lunch – and decide that you will make time “on work” as enjoyable as “off work”.
Discuss what interesting opportunities are coming up during the next few months or year. Find inspiration in those opportunities, find opportunities that inspire you.
Explore what you can do to inject more fun at work. Regular team breakfasts? Innovation hubs/discussions? Knowledge exchange sessions? Problem solving hubs?
Identify challenges that you can take on that will make work more interesting and enjoyable. Development opportunities, for the individuals and for the team? Process improvement? Stakeholder management strategies?
Discuss how you can best support each other when the going gets tough (like coming back from holiday!)
Whatever you do, don’t miss out on the power that is your team.
You’re not alone – and together you can be stronger and more creative than you could ever be alone.
So if you and/or your team members are suffering from “back-to-work blues”, do something about it – as a team!
Enjoy your time back at work! We are:-)
Elisabet and Mandy
