Do not want to work after the holidays?

Trying to figure out: post-holiday syndrome or career burnout?

Agree, no matter how much we love our work, a couple of weeks in a sunny country on the seashore will make any workaholic feel an attack of longing for vacation and freedom. If, having just rested, you find yourself thinking that you do not really want to return to your old job, perhaps this is not depression after a vacation, but a real career burnout.

If this is your case, and you are inclined to believe that your recent vacation has put everything in its place, read our 8 signs that your unwillingness to return to work rather indicates that it is time to change it.

The holiday mood came to you long before you actually went on vacation.

We all tend to dream about vacation, sitting in the office. But if a few weeks before the holidays you are already more there than here, perhaps you need not a vacation, but a new job. Dreaming about vacation is normal, but if in your thoughts you are far from the workplace, you can not concentrate on business and literally count the days before departure, then it looks more dangerous than ordinary work fatigue.
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When you booked this vacation, did your performance drop? Did you notice that you are more and more reluctant to complete the work begun and complete the projects? On the last day before your vacation, did you leave the place, even without having to hand it over while you were away? If you recognize yourself, then this is a sure sign that you have turned off the workflow, because the work no longer carries you away as it did before. Think about the fact that when you return from vacation you should look at alternative opportunities in the labor market.

You realized that you really enjoyed life and were happy only on vacation

When your holiday began, you realized that only now for the first time in a long time you felt happy and relaxed. We do not claim that work should be simple and similar to a vacation, but in order for your career to develop and grow as a professional, tasks simply have to be difficult and interesting, and this should bring you joy, not fatigue and pity.

Feel free to change jobs if you do not get positive emotions from your responsibilities, and projects have become routine and you are no longer “ignited”.

You do not raise the topic of work in communication

If you love your work, you not only think about it, but also strive to tell everyone about your achievements. On vacation, you naturally make new acquaintances, in conversations with whom the topic of work will inevitably be raised. If you diligently avoid mentioning your work, do not speak about it first and evasively answer questions of your friends about what you do, then perhaps the work causes you to have unpleasant associations and you don’t want to remember it once again. It seems to you that if you don’t think about it and don’t talk about it, it’s as if it doesn’t exist and you don’t have to return to it when the vacation is over.

When you return from vacation, start searching for new interesting work, thoughts about which will not bring sadness and hopelessness.

While you were implanted with rest, you didn’t want to go back to work and to your colleagues.

Vacation was nearing its end and you don’t want to return at all, you are not pleased with any new interesting projects or meeting with colleagues with whom you have established friendly relations. The cruel truth is that you can’t remember a single reason to rejoice at going to work after a holiday, and this is another signal that it’s time to look for a place where you’ll have a little bit, but are happy to return.

You feel like there was no vacation.

On the first day at work after a vacation, you do not feel rested. The only thing that has changed in your mood and well-being is the post-holiday syndrome. If it seems to you that after your vacation a lot of time has passed, and your level of stress is at the pre-exit mark, it’s time to stop writing off your fatigue for a long absence of vacation.

I realized that this is a career burnout. What's next?

Here is your action plan for the near future.

• Take time and think about what kind of work could really bring you joy.
• Update your CV, put all your skills in it and list the projects you have led.
• Do not wait for incoming responses, start a proactive job search
• Talk to a recruitment consultant - he will talk about what professionals are currently in demand and help you find the right positions for you.
• Refresh your knowledge of how to pass an interview if you haven’t gone to interviews for a long time.