Starting the Year in a Healthy Way
Tips for returning to work after the holidays in a safe and healthy way
Returning to work after a holiday - especially a longer one - can be a tricky process. The so-called ‘post-holiday blues’ can be a difficult time to navigate, with the memories of time relaxing with friends and whānau still fresh in our mind while we wrestle with mahi that can feel like an unconquerable mountain.
Decades of research support the accepted wisdom that holidays and breaks are essential to our health, safety, and well-being at work. This time gives us an opportunity to de-stress from the pressures of work, recoup resources, and live a more balanced life.
Such benefits often remain once we return to work, with some people starting the year with renewed vigour. The degree to which this is true, however, depends on factors such as:
workplace stress levels
how passionate we are about and engaged with our work
how well we have been able to disconnect from work during a break; and
our state of well-being and general health.
Vacation research has found that the positive effects of vacation subside within a short while after employees return to work.1
Unfortunately, the post-holiday ‘glow’ is short-lived. While not set in stone, studies suggest the benefits of taking a holiday fade as quickly as within three days of - and have completely disappeared by two weeks following - the return to work.
Post-holiday experiences
The concept of the ‘post-holiday blues’ is not a new one, with researchers highlighting the phenomenon as early as the mid-1950s.
Now, as then, the return to work is often characterised by:
feeling unfocused, lethargic, depressed, anxious, and/or deflated
stress associated with work missed or accumulated during the break
low mood and/or motivation
being and feeling less productive
difficulty returning to a work schedule (e.g., early starts, commuting time, or needing to maintain focus for a long period); and
feeling guilty about reducing time spent with family (especially in parenting situations).
The return [to work] will certainly involve the readjustment of routines, activities, and relationships associated with being part of the company… [and] when workers return to work after vacation they need to (re)adapt again to their workplace and organizational [sic] culture.2
In other words, even when we feel positive about and/or engaged with our mahi, going back to work after a holiday can be a rough ride.
The good news is, there are several steps we can take as individuals and teams to help smooth out this journey.
Individual Strategies
There are several strategies we can leverage individually to ease the pain of the ‘post-holiday blues’.
Plan ahead
When we get back to work after a break, there’s often a compulsion to jump right into picking up where we left off - especially when we feel stressed or worried about the work that has accumulated in our absence. Instead, this time is better used planning for the year to come by reflecting on questions such as:
what do you want to achieve in the year ahead?
what skills do you want to learn or improve?
what would you like to learn more about?
when do you want to take leave this year?
Investing time reflecting on these questions can help identify and reinforce positive elements in your work, while giving you specific things to look forward to.
During this planning, it can be particularly empowering to think about how you derive meaning from your mahi by considering: what are the elements of your role that bring you joy?
When exploring these questions, it can be useful to use an established goal setting framework, such as setting SMART goals, while also setting aside time in your weekly schedule for working on them.
Focus on the positive
From a work organisation perspective, a useful starting point can be to document your successes from the previous year. Engaging in this process - and planning to continue to do so - can encourage you to continue working towards the goals you have identified.
More holistically, focusing on the positive memories from your recent holiday and sharing these with friends and colleagues can help boost energy levels and overall mood.
While it sounds like a rather trite or overly simplistic approach, research points to the importance of maintaining a positive attitude to help overcome the challenges of returning to work.
Ease into the year
Research identifies re-adjusting to the work schedule as a particular barrier for many of us. One way to support this transition is by adjusting sleep routines immediately before the return to work, aligning them to reflect your typical weekly routine (e.g., waking earlier).
Similarly, setting a reasonable work schedule early on is key to a healthy return. An important element of this approach is ensuring you take enough breaks during the working day, balancing periods of effort with times of rest to ensure you establish a routine that protects and promotes your health and well-being.
Alongside these changes, be intentional about making healthy choices that support your well-being, including (but not necessarily limited to):
exploring physical activities - for example, daily walks - you can take up, maintain, or increase
taking part in social and leisure activities, such as joining an interest group or starting/revisiting a hobby
refreshing your workspace(s); and/or
introducing relaxation techniques, such as meditation or breathing exercises.
Some research has shown that it is possible to prolong the so-called [positive] ‘vacation effect’ and recover from the demands of work by engaging in relaxation activities such as walking, listening to music or meditating3
Focus on your health and well-being
You can support the process of easing into the year by reflecting on other elements of your health and well-being at work. This reflection involves thinking about questions such as:
What does it mean to you to be healthy, safe, and well?
What changes, if any, can you make to protect and promote your physical and mental health and well-being?
What support do you need from your work to protect and promote your health and well-being?
How does your work need to change to ensure it is mentally healthy?
Do you have any health and/or well-being goals you want to achieve in the year ahead?
Take the time to reconnect
The importance of (positive) connections with others at work can’t be overstated. Use the time in your first few days back at work to reconnect with colleagues, reestablishing and strengthening connections.
Investing the time in rebuilding the social capital that supports collaboration and teamwork is priceless; the long-term benefits to your mahi and your own health and well-being far outweigh the benefits of clearing your inbox or jumping back into tasks hanging over you.
Team Strategies
Not surprisingly, the strategies we can use as individuals can be adapted for teams.
Planning and reflection
Now there is some distance, it's important you take the time to reflect on the previous year away from the hustle and bustle of the festive season. As a group, spend time exploring:
What were some of the successes from last year?
What were the challenges and how successful were the solutions you implemented to address them?
What are the opportunities for improvement in the year ahead?
At the same time, it's important to - wherever possible - spend time planning for the year ahead, collectively exploring:
What are some key milestones and/or changes you can expect in the coming year?
What, collectively, do you want to achieve in 2022?
What development goals do you have as a group?
How can the team be strengthened?
How can lessons learned from the past year be applied?
Focus on health and well-being
Similarly, spend time as a team focusing on how you will protect and promote the health, safety, and well-being of your team (individually and collectively):
How can team members' health and well-being be supported?
What collective health, safety, and well-being goals do you have?
How can your team's culture be improved?
What resources are needed to support the team's health, safety, and well-being?
Importantly, this kōrero needs to be holistic, for example, think about the various elements of health presented by Te Whare Tapa Whā.
It is crucial to recognize [sic] that well-being is just as significant as physical health. It is essential not to dismiss discussions about mental health or well-being in the workplace.4
Leaders' Messages
Workers' health, safety, and well-being can only be fully realised with positive, effective leadership and support from managers and people leaders. Beating the 'back to work blues' is no exception.
To support your staff as they start a new year, there are some key messages you can emphasise to support your team(s):
Prioritise team members' health, safety, and well-being above productivity (e.g., meeting KPIs).
Actively encourage and promote healthy and safe ways of working such as
taking micro-breaks and considering “facilitating prolonged lunch breaks”5 for those struggling with the return to work
minimising long meetings (both in-person and virtual) and ensuring meetings over an hour long include a break
supporting connections between team members and across teams
maintaining a healthy work-life balance (e.g., keeping to scheduled hours); and
exploring options for flexible work (e.g., a four-day week or shorter days during the first one to two weeks post-holiday).
Check to ensure team members have the resources they need to do their job
While important for all staff, ensure those working in a hybrid model have the right tools and supports in place (e.g., workers have the technology needed to work effectively from home).
Promote different avenues for team members to:
access support (e.g., counselling services, supervision, peer mentoring, and/or health and safety reps); and
report concerns (e.g., logging concerns/issues in health and safety portals)
Prioritising (re)building social capital within the team.
As many employees may feel disconnected from their workplace and/or team culture after a break, this transition “is the perfect time to recap your business values, mission and vision [sic]”.6
Many teams are disparate in nature, such as working in different locations, engaging in shift work, or leveraging different working arrangements (e.g., hybrid or remote work). In these - and, indeed, all - circumstances, effective engagement and communication is essential.
If you are a manager or leader, it is vital you:
make yourself available for team members to speak with you or, if they are not comfortable doing so on particular issues, team members have others they can speak with when or as needed
use clear, consistent, and timely messages
take an approach that emphasises honesty, transparency, and inclusion and avoids a 'need to know' approach that excludes stakeholders; and
give all workers a reasonable opportunity to provide feedback, contribute to decision-making, and have their views taken into account, especially for all health and safety matters.
This challenging time highlights the “need to strengthen the support offered by organizations [sic], which may facilitate the process of readjustment to work insofar as an employee who feels supported by [their] organization will have a greater connection with it and experience less difficulty in returning.7
For many, the return to work from a break or holiday represents a significant shift, both physically and mentally. This period, then, offers opportunities for individuals, teams, managers, and businesses to leverage a range of strategies to support workers and help them start the year in a healthy way.
Bibliography
20North (2023, January 20). 15 Ways to Start Off the New Year Right at Work.
Deligiannis, N. (2022). Transitioning Staff Back to the Workplace Post-COVID-19.
Douglas, E. (2022, January 8). How to Make Mental Health a Priority in 2022.
Mental Health Foundation (2018, January 24). Banish the Back to Work Blues - For Good!
Microsoft Corporation (2021, March 22). The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work: Are we Ready?
Microsoft Corporation (2021, September 9). To Thrive in Hybrid Work, Build a Culture of Trust and Flexibility.
Nückel, E., Binnewies, C., Gröning, C., & Forthmann, B. (2023). The role of general work engagement and well‐being for vacation effects and for vacation fade‐out. Applied Psychology, 73. 10.1111/apps.12488.
Price Waterhouse Cooper, Australia (n.d.). Returning to Work After COVID-19.
Sipos, K. V. (2023). The Post-vacation Work Experience of Employees: The role of Perceived Vacation Deservingness [Master’s thesis]. School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana: Slovenia.
Sousa, C. & Gonçalves, G. (2021) Back to work bang! Difficulties, emotions and adjustment strategies when returning to work after a vacation, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32:10, 2242-2263. DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2019.1602784
Spice HR (2025, January 4). 5 Ways to Start the Year with a Productive and Positive Mindset.
van Beek, A. (2021, December 31). Before Unhappily Going Back to Work in the New Year, Think About This.
Working Wise (n.d.). Beating the Back to Work Blues: Tips for a Positive Return to Work.
Nückel et al. (2023, p.512).
Sousa & Gonçalves (2021, p.2244).
Ibid (p.2247).
Sipos (2023, p.26).
Nückel et al. (2023, p.534).
Spice HR (2025, p.2).
Sousa & Gonçalves (2021, p.2257).