At the end of the holidays and end-of-year holidays, some people are feeling down. And returning to the office doesn’t help. But how can you avoid the back-to-school blues? Daphnée Breton, work psychologist, gives us advice on how to feel better.
Back to school is difficult for children but also for adults. And for good reason, when the holidays end, 49% of French people feel nostalgic, melancholic and depressed. This particularly concerns people under 50, mainly active, who must return to work, according to a Harris Interactive poll. If this little bout of blues is often present after the summer period, it can also occur once the euphoria of the end-of-year holidays subsides and the holidays end.
“In general, the French take more leave during these periods, because businesses close. Thus, the break is longer. However, at the start of the school year, this can also mean a new organization. Some parents must find another mode of care , consider a move or a reorientation for students, for example. While, during the holidays, the mental load had lightened, it suddenly increases. For some, this also happens at work where they have to adapt to new professional constraints”, explains work psychologist, Daphnée Breton, before adding that each person is not affected in the same way depending on their socio-professional category.
Back to school blues: how to avoid them?
To escape these back-to-school blues, the specialist recommends anticipating and organizing well before leaving on vacation. “When we prepare well for our return, we disconnect more easily, because we are aware that everything will go well when we return. To do this, employers must give employees room to maneuver.” she adds. Therefore, the psychologist recommends distributing tasks with colleagues and prioritizing files that must be handled during your absence.
During the holidays, it is not recommended to shift your chronobiological rhythms. “We do not change the time of getting up and going to bed. However, we modify them slightly before returning so as not to have a sleep deficit and weaken our resources, which can encourage depression.”
At the start of the school year, it is advisable not to return to the “rush” time and to return to the office in the middle of the week, “if it’s possible”. Another tip: “In absence emails, it is better not to give the real date of the return and to postpone it by one or two days to be able to discuss emergencies with colleagues. Employers should let employees land, that is, do not give them urgent missions right away, do not ask them to attend all meetings and work overtime”, specifies Daphnée Breton.
How to maintain the psychological benefits of the Christmas holidays?
“Back to school is often a time for good resolutions.” So, one of them must be to make time for yourself. “We must, outside of vacations, continue to do what we want and what makes us happy.” The psychologist indicates that work should not be omnipresent in life. “To be in good physical and mental health, you have to leave room for other things: spending time with loved ones, playing sports, sleeping well, doing creative activities, shopping to stop eating on the go . But it doesn’t just depend on the employees.”
If the anxieties persist, the specialist advises consulting a health professional (general practitioner, doctor or occupational psychologist) to remain vigilant, determine the cause of the discomfort and find organizational solutions to put in place with your manager. “In this case, it is better to be in prevention than in care,” she concluded.
