Lee Suckling: Have you got summer holiday envy?

Research reveals holiday pics on Facebook as the single biggest cause of resentment of one's friends - resulting in over half of all feelings of envy experienced through the network. Photo /Thinkstock

If you're back at work this week, it's likely you're experiencing some summer holiday envy.

Deciding to return to the office for the first week of January is a tough one. While you don't want to use up all four weeks' annual leave in one go, the Sunday prior to your desk-bound return brings the biggest regret you've felt since... well, likely the last time you went straight back to work after the stats were over. And of course, because you're one of only a few in the office, there's a lot of downtime. Or should we say, a lot of Facebook time.

Facebook (and its brother Instagram) are the single most envy-building channels around this time of year. Checking them every morning (then every hour of the workday) seems like a good idea at the time: you don't want to miss out on what you're friends and family are up to. But quickly, as your screen lights up with blue seas, sandy feet, and bright bathing suits, the green-eyed monster within you begins to quietly seethe.

While based on personal experience from summers past, this isn't just anecdotal. In fact, research from Germany's Humboldt University of Berlin and the Technical University of Darmstadt reveals holiday photos on Facebook as the single biggest cause of resentment of one's friends - resulting in, their study found, more than half of all feelings of envy experienced through the social networking platform.

Being a Facebook lurker makes this envious state even worse: those who surf Facebook without posting themselves suffer the greatest negative effects. Inasmuch, when you catch up on your flatmate's Coromandel dream or follow your sister's Surfer's Paradise journey via the Big Blue Book without as much as a status date of your own, you're likely to get even more depressed than if you were using social media with usual two-way updates.

It seems counter-productive to use a social network that's supposed to make you feel more connected through time and distance, when it actually makes you feel worse than before you logged on. It's surprising, even, how many times this week you might end up shutting down your Facebook window in a huff, left feeling lonely, frustrated, even angry at those you love.

In part, summer holiday envy comes from feeling like you could have been on that holiday yourself (either you were actually invited, or you think you ought to have been). Or, if you take a statistical look, it'll be certain kinds of posts that will cause your internal envy-beast to awaken. According to the aforementioned German research, women, overall, get most envious when their friends post photos of their physical attractiveness (red alert: bikini shot!), while those in their 30s envy others' family happiness, e.g. a family building sandcastles on the beach.

So, you're back at work and becoming a bit of a holiday hater. Your short-lived break is behind you, and it's still a week (or more) until your workplace starts feeling normal again and Facebook isn't so distracting. If separate research from Columbia University is anything to go by, it's not likely the co-workers who have returned with you will bear the brunt of your envy. Instead, you'll take it out on your credit cards.

That's right: this second study suggests Facebook is more likely to make you feel self-indulgent and spend money. It might be a slice of pecan pie one day, a new pair of shoes the next. Before you know it, you're coming back from your lunch break with a new iPad, a Prada handbag, and a Flight Centre brochure for Croatia.

So, how do we break this vicious cycle that goes on all January, without breaking the bank?

The easiest place to start is by reflecting on why you're back at work so early. There's a high likelihood you have a mid-year trip planned (hence the accrual of as much annual leave as possible), and you need to keep your sights set on that. Remember that while you have another break coming up in five or six months, when your friends and co-workers (who've scrupulously posted summer holiday pics for an entire month) return to work, they have to wait a hair-pulling 11 months before they can hang up their ties and sensible shoes again.

If you're not planning on a mid-year break (maybe you're in a new job and don't have the leave yet), just consider this: the worst of your Mondayitis happened two days ago. Come next Monday, you'll experience several weeks of happiness when you see your friends' summer holiday hangovers start to kick in, as they trudge their sleepy, sunburned, ever-so-slightly heavier bodies back to their day jobs.

Then it'll be them pouring filter coffee down their throats while wondering why you look so sprightly... with your new Prada handbag.

- nzherald.co.nz