Then you are not the only one. There's hardly anything better than taking a vacation, relaxing and enjoying life with people who nourish and maybe even inspire you. In general, just find time to stop and reflect on what really matters to you.
Yesterday morning, the first day of school after the Christmas holidays, our son wrote to me from the train to his school here in Paris:
"Everyone sits like they have a headache."
It didn't seem like they were looking forward to getting back on the hamster wheel. Hand on heart – did you? Or did you also sit with your head in your hands and look for an excuse to stay at home?
Why is it so hard to get started again?
Because we need to slow down every once in a while, and see our lives in a new perspective to find out if we're on the right track—toward what we want to spend this one life on.
Just think about how many companies worldwide spend fortunes onboarding and inspiring their employees on how we do things here and how you find the 'purpose of life' (and at the same time makes money for the company).
And then it's all forgotten after a few weeks of vacation, where we slowly come back as Zombies who would rather fatten it with the family for a Netflix series (which, however, is hardly in sync with the person we deep down dream of being).
Why it's important to reboard employees after any break?
In fact, whether it is after a short Christmas break, educational seminar, or prolonged absence as maternity and other types of leave. We just need to be allowed to get 'back in the game.'
After all, no one is saying that all employees must go through the entire mill again – with quarterly targets and core values, but a soft 'welcome back' greeting would clearly be a good idea. Perhaps even a small invitation to bring the reflections of the holiday or leave into play in relation to their individual plans.
The feeling of being well 'back in business' and in step with colleagues is an essential part of having a healthy work/ life balance. A small but determined effort from management often also leads to higher retention and better performance, BECAUSE it leads to higher job satisfaction.
What did we learn from Corona?
Lockdown during the Corona pandemic meant a long absence from the workplace for most people.
In our analyses immediately after Corona, we saw that the vast majority of employees returned to the workplace with clear requirements for:
More flexible working hours (so we don't stress in the morning)
At least one fixed work-from-home day (where we do not HAVE to participate in online meetings)
More focus on personal goals and development paths (with common overview and acceptance thereof).
However, several respond:
"Overall, I think we have a good work/ life balance, but corona may have given us (me) some bad habits of turning on the computer at home in time!"
Therefore, as the leader, you must take the lead and show the way to a healthy balance
Not that there is one way for everyone, but it is important to radiate that each of us should value life as a whole more than our work – and it is certainly individual what it takes for you and me.
The Happiness Index writes that dedicated consideration of employees' personal needs is a prerequisite for having a well-functioning workforce and refers further to Avivas' analysis:
"It revealed that, since the pandemic, people have become more focused on work-life balance than salary."
Why is it that we forget it so quickly again?
Firstly, because we are creatures of habit who quickly jump back into the safe hamster wheel instead of to move out onto the thin ice, where the pulse comes up and the heart begins to beat. That's exactly where we're on to something that matters to us.
Second, because we don't make a lasting commitment to ourselves and our loved ones and ask them to help us remember what we've just decided to do differently.
Instead, we seek the acceptance of the community and dare not stand out from the crowd with daring proposals. That is, unless we have been away with stress or other obvious signs that change is necessary.
"Just do it!"
... Nike says. And they are right. If we do not dare to stand by the insights we gain while we are at rest and can feel what our heart is telling us, we are not only cheating ourselves, our loved ones, but also our colleagues.
Therefore, it is important to be able to talk openly about the personal wants and needs in the workplace.
If you want to hear more about how you can reboard and welcome your colleagues back in a present and regarding way that benefits everyone in the company, you are always more than welcome to contact us at The Heart for a completely non-committal talk. It can certainly be done for you too.
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