This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.Speaker 3: Ugh. Too short.Erin Delmore: When you return to work after the weekend and it still feels like there's not a lot of gas left in the tank, it can be a struggle to get back into the groove. Now imagine that it's not one weekend you've been away. It's like eight or a dozen or two dozen.
Erin Delmore: That feeling she's describing sounds like a mix of those new kid on the first day of school vibes and I don't know, a 13-storey free fall on the Tower of Terror. Ugh, just tough. Meg's not the only one in this boat, far from it. Employee requests for leaves of absence were up more than 21% last year.
Erin Delmore: Faced with this fear of her colleagues resenting her or asking a bunch of questions around her leave that she wasn't ready to answer, here's what Meg actually got. Erin Delmore: And by the way, Meg who could feel her heart racing in the car that day as she headed back to work for the first time in two months, says she got back into the groove just fine. Did you have a moment that sticks out in your mind where you really felt like, "Okay, now I'm back?"
Erin Delmore: When Meg found out she had new colleagues, she didn't see it as a hurdle. She saw an opportunity to help them learn and regain her footing in the process. And she says that one of the best things people can do for a colleague returning from leave is to reach out. Just welcome them back and let them know that you're there to support them.
Erin Delmore: When people come back from leave, I'm sure their colleagues are going to be asking questions. Hopefully the question is, "How are you?" But maybe the question is, "Where were you?" And what if you don't want to answer it or it feels sensitive or personal? How do you address those questions?