Beat the back-to-work blues

By MARK STORY



You had a great holiday - eating, drinking, lying around and generally relaxing. But now reality bites and it's back to work to pay the credit card again.

Or maybe you're disillusioned about what was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. After looking after the kids and the inlaws, preparing Christmas dinner for the hordes and throwing a New Year's Eve party for all and sundry, you simply haven't had time to really unwind before work comes a-calling.

Which means it's probably also time for the post-holiday blues, as you sit staring at the computer, with the sun shining outside, dreaming of giving it all up for a subsistence life at the Coromandel bach.

How to snap out of it? For starters, says psychologist Anthony Lipanovic, there's no better time than the new year to run a reality-check on why you work, and if you're really in the right job or career.

A reminder that your job pays the mortgage, school fees and for those tickets to the next rugby World Cup can be highly motivating.

But looking at the long-term, this is an ideal time to ask yourself three key questions: Does my job drive me? Do I have job satisfaction? Am I doing what I really love?

And, if necessary, Lipanovic recommends seeking input from a career counsellor or life coach.

"If you're that disenchanted with your job, do something about it before disillusion turns into depression."

Whether you love your job or not, Lipanovic says most people start the year behind the eight ball simply by failing to prepare for their return to work.

"You're less likely to daydream about the time you had off if you've bothered to start strategising your goals before you get back."

As most employers expect staff to be fully productive from day one, Lipanovic recommends doing all the basic office-keeping - clearing emails, sorting through post, meeting last-minute orders - before you go on holiday.

Employers can do their bit to help staff to get back into the swing of things.

To stop negativity from disrupting the workforce, and to discourage disillusioned staff from looking for alternative employment, organisational psychologist Fred Bauer suggests companies develop employee assistance programmes (EPAs) to bridge the transition from play to work in the new year.

"Look for ways to help relieve stress, throw in a morning tea, have lunch catered for or pay for back and neck massages for employees," advises Bauer, a director of OPRA Consulting Group.

"Organise special activities like barbecues and after-work functions to coincide with staff members returning to work."

Assuming your employer's done that, and you've done your return-to-work preparation, what's the best way to hit the ground running on day one back at the office?

Lipanovic believes it's critical to resume your usual routines including exercise, hobbies and other interests - immediately.

"Remember you're getting paid to do a job, so its unrealistic to expect companies to lower their expectations just because it's your first week back," says Lipanovic.

As well as reducing your coffee intake, which may have crept up over the holidays, he says it's important to cut your alcohol consumption to an acceptable level well before the return to work.

The higher incidence of accidents over the festive season shows how over-indulgence in alcohol, food and other substances can affect otherwise responsible people, he says.

If that sounds like you, get back to normal before you begin work.

"Take care of yourself, stay in tune with what's going to preserve your physical and mental well-being beyond the holiday season," says Lipanovic.

"Allow yourself some time to fit back into work again.

"If you leave everything to the last minute you might add to the stress levels of co-workers who are even less prepared for the return to work than you."