For many workers, the end of a summer break is a chance to return to work with a new lease of energy. But new research suggests that for a proportion of employees, the complete opposite is happening.
According to findings from a 1,000 employed UK adults commissioned by Employment Hero and carried out with OnePoll, as many as two in five UK workers (40%) feel holiday blues before they’ve even walked back through the office door.
It’s a pattern that Kevin Fitzgerald, UK Managing Director at Employment Hero, believes reflects something beyond seasonal low mood.
“The end of summer should leave people feeling rested and ready to return, but for many workers, especially younger employees, the reality is very different,” he said.
“Our research shows that annual leave is not always delivering the reset it should.”
Post-holiday blues hit hardest among under-25s
The extent of that gloom is particularly high among younger people. The survey, which was conducted in July 2026, shows half of under-25s and 46% of under-34s feel that pressure mounting after spending time away.
For under-25s, a group already more likely to feel anxious before and during their time off, the numbers reveal the complexities of those feelings. Four in 10 Gen Z workers (39%) express difficulty disconnecting from their duties while they’re taking time off, against 21% nationally. And more than a third of under-34s (36%) feel guilty about taking annual leave in the first place.
Working through annual leave is now routine for younger staff
For a significant share of younger workers, staying switched on is the default. Some 41% of Gen Z employees say they work every day of their annual leave, more than double the national figure of 27%. Combined with the guilt reported by more than a third of under-34s, the data points to a group of workers for whom the line between time off and time on has largely disappeared.
Delaying Leave Over Work Anxiety
Similar to the dynamics that lead to presenteeism (in which employees remain visibly available even when they’re physically or mentally unwell), for some employees, the expectation to remain switched on has the potential to undermine the very rest and recovery annual leave is meant to provide.
And it’s not just feeding post-holiday anxiety. In fact, it shows up long before employees even go on leave. The same survey reveals that one in five UK workers (20%) have delayed or cancelled a holiday altogether because they were anxious about being away from work, a figure that rises to nearly a third of Gen Z employees (32%).
The cost of never fully switching off
That difficulty disconnecting could have more far-reaching knock-on effects for workers too. The CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work 2025 report, based on a survey of 5,000 UK workers, found that employees whose mental health is negatively affected by work are far less willing to go above and beyond in their role (39%, against 69% of those who aren’t) and far less likely to make innovative suggestions (54%, against 72%). They’re also more likely to be actively looking to leave their job entirely (34%, against 14%).
Resetting the culture around annual leave
That’s not to say all is lost. Kevin, Employment Hero’s UK Managing Director, argues that employers have a narrow but real opportunity to change workplace culture to avoid such issues.
“When people feel guilty for taking time off, continue working while they are away, or come back already anxious, it points to a deeper issue around workplace culture and expectations,” he said.
“Employers looking to make the most of the final sprint to 2027 have an opportunity to set stronger boundaries, provide meaningful support and help their teams feel energised, focused and ready for the work ahead.”
For businesses heading into the last stretch of the year with a workforce already running on empty, the choice is clear: reset expectations around availability now, or absorb the productivity cost of a return to work that never really began in the first place.
