Feeling an end of year slump? What are the signs that you should look for a new job?

While many of us have only just finished up work for the holidays, I’ve had a surprising number of people telling me they are already feeling dread about returning in the new year.

Amidst cost of living pressures, increasing workloads, worries about the economy and return to office mandates it’s no wonder many employees are feeling stressed.

A growing body of research also shows this feeling is pretty common.

It can be hard to separate the merry go round of end of year deadlines, seemingly endless holiday networking events, crowded roads and shopping centres, and extended family gatherings from how you really feel about your work.

How do you tell if it’s just the time of year or whether you should start looking for a new job (or career) in 2024? Knowing how you are likely to feel in January can prompt some thinking over the holiday break.

There is nothing new about the return-to-work blues, but few companies have any strategy to facilitate readjustment to work after vacation.

What does the research say?

One study found worker health and wellbeing:

increased quickly during vacation, peaked on the eighth vacation day and had rapidly returned to baseline level within the first week of work resumption.

Another found:

short breaks have an advantage over longer vacations on some measures, and this may be explained by attributes of the environment and activities in which vacationers engaged.

But while you may feel uninspired in your first week back, hang in there: research has shown employees perceive they are more creative two weeks after returning from vacation.

The pandemic introduced new stressors into almost every area of our lives. As many of these stressors go on over several years, the risk of burnout increases.

In 2024, employees are expecting their companies to do more to improve their wellbeing according to the Human Workplace Index. 60.9% of employees stated “increase my salary” as a way to improve their wellbeing, but they also want better benefits (45%), more PTO (36.5%) and increased flexibility, allowing them to work flexible hours or from home (35%).  

Providing a psychologically safe workplace

In a recent report on mental health and workplace, the Committee for Economic Development Australia noted poor mental health costs the Australian economy around A$70 billion dollars a year.

Employers should provide a psychologically safe workplace, along with access to mental health support.

Taking regular breaks, creating boundaries to stop work spilling into our personal lives, getting exercise and having other interests outside of work are important to reduce stress.

Taking holidays is also essential. One study found “health and wellbeing improve during vacation, but these positive vacation effects fade out within the first week of work resumption”. Even so, the same researchers noted vacations “may act as buffer against future stressors”.

But a survey found 75% of Australians were not taking their annual leave due to workload and financial pressures.

This points to a broader issue that isn’t solved by announcing a new employee wellness initiative.

Wellness fads don’t work when the root cause remains

Organisations need to be aware wellness fads and token mindfulness programs do nothing to address stressors such as poor job design, overwork, inadequate management capability and poor organisational and leadership culture.

All the free lunch and in-office massages in the world will be of no use if you’re working in a toxic culture or have a narcissistic boss.

Sometimes, systemic change is needed. That can mean redesigning jobs, rethinking pay, changing organisational structure and addressing workload expectations.

Offering overworked employees yoga sessions, stress reduction workshops, meal vouchers or sessions on personal resilience are unlikely to make any difference.

What’s needed is an approach addressing the root causes of employee burnout.

If I’m dreading work this much, should I look for a new job?

While feeling a bit flat at work after a holiday is normal for a few weeks, some indicators suggest it’s time for a new job (or a longer break).

If you are still feeling flat a month after you return, it’s likely to be more than the post-vacation slump.

Getting support to discuss the causes is an important first step.

If your stressors are largely driven by the pressures of balancing responsibilities outside of work, you might ask your employer for flexibility with hours or working from home.

And while many companies are offering more flexibility since the pandemic, recent changes to federal laws will make it easier for employees to request flexible work.

So you’ve discussed your concerns with your manager – now what?

If there is a lack of genuine action to address poor organisational culture, inadequate leadership capability, continued overwork, and bad job design, then looking for a new job is probably a good idea.

I’ll be back next Sunday with an end of year Sunday Studio, packed with research insights, things to read and try and some inspiration for the holidays. It will have my experiment with my own personal #workadventure which ended up taking a much longer and more meandering journey than I had envisaged (and another city entirely).

In the meantime, this wonderful book by Annabel Streets highlights the science of why we should walk more giving us both ideas, science and how-to inspiration. It turns out that there are myriad evidence based benefits to walking in specific locations but also in conditions that might make most of us stay home on the couch. If it’s hot, cold, muddy, dark, raining or windy - walk anyway.

Libby x