Why manager support for employees coming back from vacation can help

While it’s true that individuals should have strategies to help themselves ease back into work, having extra support from their manager can make the transition even easier. Many strategies that help employees come back from vacation effectively don’t take a lot of time, but they can have major benefits, including:

• Increased productivity: Supporting your employees when they return from vacation can help them get back to normal productivity levels faster. This can help avoid disruptions to your operations.
• Improved mood: A warm welcome with lots of support from management can help your employees feel better about returning to work.
• Better company culture: Prioritizing vacations and making it easier to come back creates a positive company culture that emphasizes the well-being of your team. This makes your organization a place where people want to work and stay long-term.

Ways you can support employees on the first day back to work

As a manager, you can make life easier for employees returning to work after vacation. A lot of the effort starts before they leave and continues while they’re gone. Try these strategies to help your employees feel more excited to come back from vacation.

1. Establish pre-vacation processes

You likely have a PTO policy that covers things like how employees accrue time off, when they can use it and how to get approval for vacation time. It can also be helpful to write procedures on an employee’s responsibilities before leaving.

Include details on how they should let their teammates, clients and other collaborators know about their absence and how they should handle their workload while they’re gone. Ideas include:

• Sending a notification to everyone who needs to know
• Setting up out-of-office notifications on voicemail and email
• Identifying and delegating essential duties that need to happen while they’re gone
• Having a meeting with the people who’ll handle those duties
• Gathering all materials, supplies and information others will need to cover the duties
• Cleaning and organizing their workspace before leaving

You might include additional responsibilities based on the nature of your business and how you want to handle vacation time.

2. Keep up with important work

You want your employees to unplug completely when they use PTO. They’ll enjoy their vacation more and feel like they’re truly getting a break. However, their role might include crucial duties that can’t be paused. Those essential tasks are necessary for the organization’s overall operation, so it may benefit everyone to keep up with them.

Make sure the team member delegates their duties to someone else before leaving. This might fall on the person’s direct supervisor or a team member, depending on what it is. Cross-training your staff on those essential tasks makes it easier for others to step in while others are on vacation.

3. Model and enforce a no working on vacation policy

Making your employees take PTO and fully disconnect while they’re gone can make it easier for them to come back. Answering emails or fielding calls for help while on vacation keeps them partially in work mode. They might not feel like they had a vacation, so they might be more hesitant when they return.

Preparing with the employee before they leave and ensuring you have coverage for the essential tasks can make enforcing the no-working policy easier. It can also help to tell your team directly that you don’t want them to worry about work.

Some employees feel obligated to stay connected to what’s happening at work. Hearing it’s okay for them to stay away could give them the confidence to disconnect and feel refreshed when they return. It’s also important for leaders at your company to model this no-working policy.

4. Offer a flexible return

You might offer a flexible or alternative schedule for the first day back to work. For instance, the employee might work from home the first day to minimize distractions so they can get caught up faster. Or they might work a shortened schedule to let them build back up to their normal working hours.

5. Make the first day back a catch-up day

Even with others helping out while a team member is gone, they’ll likely have a lot to do when they return. At a minimum, they might need time to see where their projects and tasks are if others were working on them during their absence.

Giving them their first day back to work after vacation as a catch-up day with no major responsibilities or team meetings can make the transition easier.

When allowing employees to schedule time off, consider project progress and upcoming milestones. Encouraging your team to take a vacation during slower times can make the transition back to work easier. They can catch up for a day or two instead of jumping right back in and trying to meet nearing deadlines.

6. Start with a one-on-one

It can be helpful to start the first day back from vacation with a one-on-one meeting with someone who can catch the team member up on what’s happening. This could be a direct supervisor, a team member or the employee who was filling in for them while they were gone.

They can explain what they did while the person was gone and update them on any project delays, changes or other important details they need to get back on track.

7. Help the team member prioritize

Returning to work after vacation often means a pile-up of work that must be done. Prioritizing those tasks is important to help keep the team’s productivity high. The one-on-one meeting can help the vacationing employee figure out what needs to get done now that they’re back.

However, they might need some help prioritizing tasks. Let them know if there’s anything urgent to help them get started. Maybe a client requested last-minute changes to the campaign they designed, and it needs to be approved quickly. This might be the first project the team member needs to tackle.

8. Ask about their vacation time

Going from vacation back to work can be jarring. They might still be excited about the adventures they had on vacation. Asking about their time away lets them talk about it. It also helps you get to know your employees better, which can help strengthen your relationships.

9. Ease your expectations

Holding your team to high standards helps you get the best work out of them. However, sometimes, easing up a bit can boost morale. Be understanding if it takes a bit for the team member to get back in the swing of things.