For many, September means an eternal duality. On one hand the "goodbye" to vacations and on the other hand the "hello" to return to work. The end of the holidays usually means the end of a period where we have a greater sense of well-being, happiness, calm, and a set of activities that we associate with positive emotions. Returning to work is synonymous with routine, responsibility, discipline, increased stress levels, and often coincides with the challenges of the kid's return to school. Some authors even identify this as Post-Vacation Syndrome.

At Servdebt we always pay attention to our employees and their needs so that we can develop strategies and benefits that can help them get back to work positively and even enthusiastically. To this end, I share five strategies that can make this readaptation easier and HAPPY:

Habituate – We should face this change in our routine in a natural way. To ease the return and our organization, if we have been away from our usual residence, we should schedule our return a couple of days earlier. This way we can prepare everything before coming back to the office and prevent some unforeseen last-minute events, or the first week of work will be even more stressful between clothes preparation, home shopping, etc. By doing this, we are not just beginning to prepare what we need, but we're also mentalizing ourselves about the new routines that are coming.

Arrange - The first day of work, or even the first week, is often very informative. It is important to understand what happened, what tasks are pending, and begin classifying the topics as important, unimportant, urgent or non-urgent. These four concepts are the basis of a good line-up of everything that happened during the holidays and are the basis for the creation of our time management matrix. This organization will help lighten unforeseen events and, consequently, the impact they have on our stress and schedule management.

Prioritize - After analyzing all the topics, it is important to start with those that are important and urgent, so that we can ensure more productivity. Also, it is important, before our holidays, to plan our schedule in a realistic way, which means we shouldn't leave topics that require preparation or a large investment of time for the week of our return. Otherwise, we risk not taking advantage of the rest period properly.

Pause - We must enjoy break times so we can focus on what is important when we get back to work. Socialize with your colleagues or get some rest - your mood will decide what suits you better. In addition to taking breaks throughout the day, it is also important to keep some activities on weekends and after work which allows us to relax, helps us maintain work-life balance and, most important, that good vacation feeling.

You - You should continue taking care of yourself and focusing on the future. Vacation memories should be motivation rather than a nostalgic thought like, "I wish I was still on vacation" or "I wish I could go on vacation tomorrow again." Now we will be experiencing other moments that will be unique and will help us grow, with the advantage that we can live them with a fresh perspective due to the rest period we had.

Given these strategies, Servdebt has a set of benefits for its employees to help them in this readaptation. Here are four examples:

1. Relaxation massage, so we can have the same sense of well-being we had on our vacation; 2. PlayStation, Foosball and Arcade Machine, so we can release our stress and interact with colleagues to catch up on all the news; 3. Weekend suggestions in cities where we have an office, so we can keep the holiday feeling with some leisure activities; 4. Nutritionist, "Marmita Point", a futsal match every week and protocols with some gyms, so we can prepare ourselves for the next summer.

Best wishes for a great return to work!