Getting Back to Work

BACK TO REALITY

Word Cloud

How do you feel after the holidays?

Discuss the following questions

1 How was your Christmas break?
2 Did you feel relaxed, bored, or stressed by the end?
3 How did you feel on your first day back at work?
4 What was the first thing you did when you opened your laptop/office door the first morning after the break?
5 What was the hardest thing about returning?

Complete the sentences below so that they are true for you


"During the holidays I was __________ but now I'm __________"

"I thought returning would be __________ but actually it's __________"

Explain the meanings of the following expressions

get back into a routine
ease back into work
productivity slump
catch up on work

Match

Match the following expressions with their definitions

• to gradually and slowly return to an activity, routine, or situation after a break

• to start doing something successfully without any delay

• a large amount of something

• to do all the work that needs to be done before you can do other things

• returning to work or a regular, often tedious, routine after a break

to ease back into it

to hit the ground running

a mountain of

to clear the decks

back to the grind

• to ease back into it

• to hit the ground running

• a mountain of

• to clear the decks

• back to the grind

Finish off the sentences so that they are true for you using one of the phrases below

• After the holidays, I usually struggle to __________.

• The biggest problem for me is __________.

• To reduce stress, I try to __________.

• to ease back into it

• to hit the ground running

• a mountain of paperwork/emails

• to clear the decks

• back to the grind

• to get back into a routine

• to ease back into work

• productivity slump

• to catch up on work

Discuss the following questions


1 What strategies do you use to make returning to work easier?
2 What do you think are the biggest challenges people face when going back to work?
3 Should companies do anything special for employees returning after the holidays?

Watch the clip with some advice about getting back to work after the holidays.

1 Which advice sounded most useful?

2 Which advice would not work for you?

3 Did the video mention anything surprising?
4 What would you add to the list?

​Useful phrases for discussion

I found it interesting that ...
I disagree with the point about ...
From my experience ...
That's easier said than done because ...
One thing they didn't mention is ...

People usually compile a to-do list before going back to work.
Create a "don't do list" for your first week back at work

Workplace Problem Solving

It’s January. Your company notices that many employees are:

• unmotivated

• stressed

• unfocused

With a partner:

1 Identify 3 common problems

2 Suggest 3 realistic solutions