Here’s the part of holiday season nobody puts on a postcard: the quiet check of the work inbox on day three, standing slightly away from everyone else, telling yourself “it’s only to see whether anything’s on fire”.

YouGov found that 60% of UK workers who use email check their work inbox on holiday. The interesting bit is what the same survey found about why: 82% said their manager probably or definitely wouldn’t expect them to. Only 5% thought their boss definitely would.

Which means most of the pressure to stay reachable is coming from inside the house.

 

The good news has got better

For years the standard line was that a holiday’s benefits evaporate within about a week of getting back – a finding from Dutch research that followed workers found their improved mood, energy and health had largely returned to normal once work resumed.

That’s been softened considerably by newer evidence. A 2025 meta-analysis pulling together 32 studies concluded that the effect on wellbeing is larger and longer-lasting than previously thought, with benefits still measurable around three weeks after returning.

What predicted whether they lasted wasn’t where people went, how far, or even how long for. It was whether they’d genuinely *detached* – switched off mentally, not just physically left the building.

That’s the whole game, and it’s more within your control than the destination is.

 

Psychological detachment, and why it’s the thing that matters

Researchers have a name for this: psychological detachment. An analysis of studies covering more than 38,000 employees found that people who detach well from work in their time off report meaningfully lower exhaustion, better sleep, less fatigue and higher life satisfaction.

(In the interests of honesty: the same analysis found the link to actual job performance is small and mixed. Detaching properly is good for you. Just don’t promise your manager it’ll make you 30% more productive )

Detachment is a skill, and it can be built.

 

Before you go

Do the handover in writing. Not a summary of your job – a list of what might come up, who handles each thing, and what “wait until I’m back” looks like. Vagueness is what pulls people back to the inbox. Certainty is what lets them stay away.

Name a deputy, out loud. One person, told directly, with permission to decide things. “Check with me first” is not delegation; it’s a tether.

Try this: Write the out-of-office so it removes the choice from you. Not “I’ll be checking periodically” – that’s an invitation. Something closer to “I’m away until the 18th and won’t be picking up email. For anything urgent, please contact X.”

 

While you’re away

The strongest single move is the boring one: take the work apps off your phone for the week. Not logged out – removed. Reinstalling takes ninety seconds and is just enough friction to break the habit loop of the idle thumb.

If that feels impossible, the compromise that actually works is one fixed fifteen-minute window, at the same time each day, from a laptop rather than your phone. Contained check-ins beats constant.

 

Coming back

The return does more damage to a good holiday than the holiday does good. Two things help.

Block your first morning. No meetings. That’s not a treat, it’s triage – the time to read 400 emails and work out which forty matter.

Pro tip: Come back on a Wednesday. A three-day first week is far gentler than five.

 

And a small thing worth saying, because plenty of us need permission: leave that goes untaken doesn’t roll over into being a better colleague. Take the days and make them count.

So, what’s the one handover note that would let you actually put your phone down this year?