After a week or two of festivities, most of our brains have tricked themselves into forgetting that instinctive dread of an email notification. But halfway through the workweek, that familiar feeling of exhaustion and frustration has set in.
So some folks decided to cope with their situation and share their best, funniest, and most relatable thoughts on X (formerly Twitter.) So if you are feeling a similar amount of despair, get as comfortable as you can, refill your coffee, and scroll through. Be sure to upvote your favorites and share your thoughts, feelings, and ideas below.
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You might be wondering, what exactly does national "circling back day" mean. Well, as those unfortunate enough to deal with a lot of meetings and emails might know, folks love to "circle back" to some topic. The holidays offer us a brief escape from this, for better or worse. But afterward, it ends up hitting twice as hard. As sad as it sounds, post-vacation blues, or, more accurately, post-travel depression (PTD), is a measurable psychological issue that workers face all around the world. While it’s sometimes a result of coming down from the “high” of travel, more often than not, the need to return to a steady, day-to-day job is the real culprit.
Often enough it goes unnoticed. After all, how often do you speak with your coworkers about their mental health? At the same time, a person suffering from PTD might feel ashamed talking about it to people at work. Who wants to highlight how time off made them sad when talking to people who were working the entire time?
However, since around this time of year, many people are going through the same thing, there is a sort of critical mass that reveals just how depressing going back to work after some “freedom” can be. If it’s any consolation, this feeling tends not to last too long, unless you deeply despise your job, in which case, a similar negative emotion was likely in place anyway.
I'm the one who's supposed to help everyone when they struggle. 1.5weeks off - I don't know sh*t anymore.
Same. It's why I dread wishing my co-workers a Happy New Year - there's a high risk of them launching into some story or tangent I don't want to hear.
Some folks recommend “simply” always having a vacation planned, so you have something to be striving towards, regardless of where one is in the year. Psychologists suggest that knowing that something will end at some point often helps a person “push” through difficult times, even if it’s in the distant future.
In general, PTD remains an understudied phenomenon, mostly because it can be hard to measure. People might not be honest about their holidays, they might have already recovered or it might be hard to prove that it’s precisely post-holiday blues that are getting them down. Nevertheless, there has been some research done on the topic, with one study reporting that up to 57% of Brits experience it.
I was happy to get back toy regular routine so I could look forward to the weekend, when I don't have anything to do but stay in my sweats, read, and take naps.This first weekend of 2024 is all about REST (and I hope my fellow Pandas get some rest and recharge time too).
Not to mention, the time off on the holidays can often be just enough to make you forget. The pre-holiday period is full of plans one hastily makes for “next year” without quite internalizing the fact that next year is often just a handful of days away. So when those emails begin to roll in, it can get pretty exhausting.
This was literally me this morning after coming back to work after 2 weeks off :( I was wide awake at 2:30 this morning stressing about having to actually go to work. Lol.
LMAO, I mean I wish it would always be cloudy but not totally destroy the sun
No offence to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, but in this photo she looks like one of the undead! 🧟♀️
The first week (or first string of 5 days) in January after break should be a transition period. The first day is getting up early. The second day is turning on the computer and trying to remember all your passwords. The third day is opening email (but not looking at any of them). The fourth day is actually showing up at the office and telling the same story about what you did over the break to 10 different people. And the fifth day is bulk replying to all of those emails "let's circle back on this next week." Depending on the calendar, any remaining days in the week before the weekend are off-days.
I can't stand having that many emails. One teacher I had a few years ago, had a grand total of 138,271 emails unread. (I only remember that because I had to just keep watching it go up, it set my OCD off)
Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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I kind of remember those days. I've been retired for a few years and those memories are fading quickly. Now all I have to look forward to are naps, golf, fishing, eating and watching what I want on TV, as late as I want. Meals are important too. Think I will wander over to the fridge and see what's up.
I kind of remember those days. I've been retired for a few years and those memories are fading quickly. Now all I have to look forward to are naps, golf, fishing, eating and watching what I want on TV, as late as I want. Meals are important too. Think I will wander over to the fridge and see what's up.
