The Return To Work Hangover
Most of us have just returned from some form of a holiday (or time off). This year’s holiday looked very different than the previous years with restrictions, uncertainty and less options to choose from for many. Regardless of what it looked like, returning to work can be a struggle for many to find where to start and where all of our motivation is hiding!
For some, we were itching to get back to work. The kids/partner/mother-in-law were driving us crazy or we were stuck in isolation and now craving some structure and work back into our day. We may even love what we do so getting back to work meant getting back to our passion and what drives us.
For others, returning to work is like having a hangover that lasts for days, or even weeks! The only thing that got us through December was knowing we were taking a break and now that we are back, it’s all the same as when we left. The same people, the same problems and the same boredom. The kids, friends and colleagues might still be on holidays and the days are the perfect weather for us to be doing anything other than being at work. There isn’t enough work around to occupy our mind or to make us busy enough to put our head down and plough through. It might be really busy but frankly we couldn’t care less and our motivation hasn’t returned to work with us.
The build up to any holiday or break from work helps to trigger the ‘happiness’ chemicals in our mind. It is these chemicals, such as dopamine, that have us looking forward to the break. In pre-COVID times, researchers suggested that having a trip in planning, regardless of how far away it is, contributes to our overall happiness and motivation levels. In COVID times, the desire to plan a trip with so many uncertainties can be frustrating with more questions than answers, triggering anxiety in some people.
The dopamine is always there inside our brain ready to be triggered. We have a choice, we can allow the current situations and the feeling of the ‘return to work’ hangover consume our energy levels and determine out mindset, or we can step up and own our ability to trigger our own happiness chemical, dopamine.
What’s your choice?
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