Heading back to work after a break can leave us with different feelings. Some of us may be excited to get stuck into a fresh year of work and looking forward to what will be achieved, while some may be dreading the return and wishing they had an extra few weeks off.
Ask yourself these five questions to help you determine whether a new job is needed or if you were just having a great break.
1. Am I dreading going back to work after the break?
There’s a difference between wishing the break was longer so you have more time to relax and not wanting to go back to your current job. Dreading work involves fear of completing the tasks the job entails.
2. Do I see purpose in the work I’m currently doing?
We all know the feeling of carrying out a task that we don’t see the point in. But there’s a difference between one task, and all tasks. Not having, or being able to see the purpose, can make it harder feel motivated and may lead to procrastination. No one should dread going to work, and might be a sign that it’s time to look elsewhere.
3. Is there still room for my career to grow?
Often, time away from work helps us realisewhat we want to achieve and where we want our career to go. We might set work related goals for the year. Making sure that we’re in a job that can help us achieve these is important, and if you can’t actually achieve these things in your current job, then it might be time to think about where you can achieve them.
4. Do I feel appreciated and heard?
When we’re not on a break, we spend more time with colleagues during the day, than we do with family and friends. Over the break you may realise that you don’t enjoy spending time with people at work, and if you’re not looking forward to hearing how their break was, it might be time to find new job with new colleagues.
5. Is this job making it difficult to have good work-life balance?
During a holiday or break, we’ve all had that realisation that there’s more to life than work, and we think about how we can achieve that once back in the office. When a company encourages work-life balance it makes it a lot easier to achieve this.
If after answering these questions you’ve realised that it’s time for a new career, get in contact with one of our consultants who can help you find a job you’ll want to return to after a break.
