Post-Vacation Return Stress: How to Ease Back Into Work

Two weeks of quiet beach sounds, morning coffee under a palm tree, and no meetings or calendar invites are behind you. But now, it’s your first day back at the office. Your Outlook shows 426 unread emails. Slack messages with blue notifications are more than you can count on your fingers. Your calendar is packed with “catch-up” meetings every hour. And yet, you feel… more tired than before your vacation?

Welcome to the world of post-vacation return stress.

But it doesn’t have to be this way! Our brain doesn’t instantly switch from full relaxation mode back to peak performance overnight. Think of yourself like a computer. After a long pause, when you start it again, it hums, configures itself, and updates its software. But we expect ourselves to be immediately productive, clear-headed, and sharp.

What’s more, our work culture encourages a quick “bounce back” mentality: “Well, you rested, now get to work!” Under such expectations, we risk losing all the good things vacation gave us: freshness, calm, new perspectives.

5 Simple Yet Effective Tips to Avoid Overload Right After Vacation

• Plan a “soft” landing. If possible, don’t schedule intense meetings or complex tasks on your first day. Allow yourself a “warm-up” day.
• Tackle emails strategically. Start with last week’s messages and ignore those sent during your vacation’s first week. If someone really needs a reply, they’ll write again.
• Be open with your team. Let them know you’re still “recalibrating.” Most colleagues feel the same and appreciate honesty more than superhuman performance.
• Keep up vacation habits. Did you sleep better? Walk more? Eat more calmly? Bring those habits back to your workday, even if only a little.
• Be gentle with yourself. Anxiety doesn’t ease by adding guilt for feeling anxious. Allowing yourself space helps more than pushing through.

What Can Employers and Managers Do?

A lot. Returning to work doesn’t have to feel like a cold shower. Here are ways to create a culture where the benefits of vacation last a bit longer:

• Normalize a slow start. Give team members time on day one just to “get settled,” without demanding full productivity right away.
• Create a post-vacation “catch-up” routine. For example: a summary document, a “peer briefing,” or a 20-minute recap meeting. People shouldn’t have to reconstruct everything on their own.
• Support focus. Hold fewer meetings. Help employees prioritize where to start, rather than being overwhelmed by everything at once.
• Encourage sharing vacation benefits. Allow people to share what helped them on vacation, and how they can apply that to their daily work.

Too often, organizations see vacation merely as a way to “recharge the battery”: Employees leave, fill up their energy, then return to double-speed work. But what if we viewed vacation as part of life, not just a work tool? Truly rested employees are not only more efficient, but also more satisfied, creative, empathetic, and collaborative. And this isn’t a luxury. It’s an investment.