Quit-cation | The trend forcing workers to quit after a holiday - is there anything employers can do?

Everyone looks forward to their annual leave. Whether you spend it sitting in your garden, in front of the telly, or on a beach in the Bahamas, our time away from work is often spent rejuvenating and resting our body and mind.

Yet, when we return from this holiday, we are quickly brought back to reality, and for many, the nine-to-five grind commences again. The pandemic and everything that followed changed the way working professionals view work in relation to their own wellbeing, with much of the UK workforce resigning from their positions altogether.

But studies show that even after getting a good amount of rest over the holiday, workers dread returning to work after a holiday. This is illustrated in research that found 73% of people experience anxiety upon rejoining work after a relaxing break. For many workers, this manifests in not being able to sleep the night before rejoining their employer.

Sleep scares

“During holidays, individuals experience a shift in their daily routines, including their sleep patterns. Those irregular sleep schedules and disruptions in circadian rhythms can make it challenging for the body to readjust when it's time to return to work, leading to sleep disturbances and difficulty falling asleep on the night before resuming work,” says sleep psychologist Dr. Katherine Hall.