Feeling unfocused at work? You’ve got ‘New Year blues’

WELLINGTON - Barely back at work and hate it already? Well, chances are you have a case of post-holiday blues.

According to experts, post-holiday blues are common in the early part of a new year, when workers return to the office after a holiday to the uncomfortable reality that they don’t enjoy their jobs.

Both beyondblue, Australia’s national depression initiative, and the Black Dog Institute, the clinical research facility focusing on mood disorders, recognise returning to work as a relocation phenomenon similar to postnatal depression.

Gordon Black of Black Dog said returning to work is like putting a harness back on a horse after it has had a taste of freedom.

“Workplace blues are like the baby blues, and are commonly felt in response to some phase of adjustment. Most workers are thinking they’d rather be lying on a beach or out playing golf and socialising than being back in the yoke of the office,” Stuff.co.nz quoted him as saying.

Usually, the blues disappear after a few days, but if the sad feelings persist, it is a signal to make a change either in workplace, career or attitude, said Black.

Easing your way back into work slowly and not falling into the trap of thinking you should be happy all the time is the best way to overcome post-holiday blues, suggest experts.

Michael Baigent of Beyondblue said that while post-holiday blues are a natural response to the end of a good break, they are not a recognised mental illness.

“When anything good comes to an end, there are feeling of loss and sadness, but if the feelings are severe, last longer than two weeks and interfere with work functioning, it could be due to clinical depression,” said Baigent. (ANI)