Return to Work

Going back to work after a prolonged period of sickness is daunting. It knocks your confidence in ways I wasn't expecting.

I've always considered myself something of a workaholic. I genuinely enjoy working. I want to be at work. Work has never been a source of stress for me. Ironically, I experience far more stress when I'm unable to work than when I have too much to do.

So, suddenly becoming ill, spending time in hospital, and being forced to step away for a while was incredibly difficult. It wasn't just my health that took a hit. My identity did too.

Now that I'm back, these are some of the lessons and realities I'm slowly coming to terms with.

1. Work won't wait.

The machine keeps moving. Projects continue. Decisions get made. Deadlines arrive regardless of who is absent.

If you're in a leadership role, build your team and your processes so work can continue with or without you. It's not about making yourself replaceable; it's about making your team resilient.

2. Don't place too much expectation on colleagues.

This was probably the hardest lesson.

No matter how close you think you are, people have their own lives, pressures and priorities. Once you're out of sight, you often become out of mind. Before I went off sick, I only regularly spoke to a handful of colleagues. I assumed at least some of those conversations would continue while I was away. They didn't.

That doesn't necessarily make anyone a bad person. Work relationships are often exactly that - relationships built around work. Once you're no longer physically present, the connection can fade more quickly than you imagined.

It's a difficult truth, but perhaps a healthier one to accept.

3. You return feeling like a stranger.

This is the part no one really prepares you for.

Everyone else has continued living the story while you've been absent. New projects have started. Conversations have happened. Processes have changed. People have adapted without you.

You walk back in feeling as though you've missed several chapters of a book everyone else has already read.

Catching up takes time, and so does rebuilding your confidence.

4. Your confidence doesn't return on day one.

You may have been highly capable before you became ill, but illness has a way of making you question yourself. Simple things suddenly feel unfamiliar. You second-guess decisions you would once have made instinctively.

Give yourself permission to ease back into your role. Confidence is rebuilt through repetition, not expectation.

5. Your perspective changes.

Stepping away reminds you that your health is not an inconvenience to be managed around work. It's the foundation that makes work possible in the first place. I still love my job. I still enjoy being productive. But I'm learning that resilience isn't about never stopping. Sometimes resilience is allowing yourself the time to recover, even when every instinct tells you to push through.

Returning to work isn't just about opening your laptop again. It's about rebuilding trust in your body, your mind and yourself.

And that takes longer than people realise.