Sunday mornings are grumpy mornings and Sunday mornings just after a vacation are unkind and evil. The coffee tastes bitter, alarm clock rings in too soon, shoes don’t match with the socks, traffic jams get horrific, meetings get postponed, and more. In other words, you want to scream out aloud: Why did I ever come back? Now, we all know the answer to this one, you had no choice but to get back to the routine and the job. But here’s what you can do to make your first day at work, post a holiday, bearable and short: simply avoid bumping into a certain few people. You know the types…
I lost weight
If you love your donuts and biryanis then we’re sure you won’t like bumping into those who live on apples and cucumbers. Imagine the horror of running into someone who lost the kilos and inches while on a holiday. Yes, anyone who was out on a wellness tourism break needs to be avoided. A holiday needs to be spent gorging cupcakes and kebabs, not crunching and squatting. Wonder if the health freak would understand that!
I was updating Facebook
Check-in, status updates, selfies and hashtags. Stay away from the Facebook obsessed, especially if you haven’t been making your presence felt on their timeline. They’ve been updating the same for your benefit after all: the close-up shots of their drink of choice, the serene sunset cover photos and the million hashtags (read: relax, spa, awesome, beach, shopping…): on the assumption that you have been following their itinerary. They are assuming you know it all and will excitedly join them in re-living their vacation.
Wearing ‘I Love [INSERT DESTINATION] tee-shirt’
If your workplace allows you to wear casual clothes then watch out for the colleagues who’d be flaunting their ‘I love Dubai, Paris, Maldives…’ tees! They’re expecting you to smile and ask them if the beaches were cool and the Eiffel beautiful. And worse, they have probably got a dozen in their office bags to gift to all of you.
I saw you there!
If any of your colleagues saw you dancing on a table, eating an extra-large pizza or howling on a roller-coaster then you better hide behind the cubicle as soon as he/she walks in to the office. Our guess is that being caught in an embarrassing act would have been awkward enough. Imagine, the tale being re-told over an office lunch?
I was playing the host
Their house was transformed into a holiday home and they were playing the tourist guides. Keep a safe distance from colleagues who were playing hosts. They were trapped at home cooking for the guests. They were probably entertaining the guests by showing them Kuwait and visiting The Scientific Center or Kuwait Towers for the umpteenth time. And perhaps, have to go back home to them again or clean up the mess they created! You don’t want to hear them moan.
I was stuck at work
Your leave got approved but your junior’s leave got cancelled. So while you were paragliding, he was making reports and attending meetings: an encounter best avoided. Even if you have got him a token to make him feel nice or lessen your guilt, we’d say hold on to it for a week or so. Stay Calm and Smile, hopefully he’ll soon get over it.
Avoid these people, and avoid being these people, and everyone can keep calm and get through to the next vacation.
