One in five managers could not disconnect from work during the holidays

In January 2026, many Russian executives faced a feeling of uneven return to work after the holidays. So, 35% of managers are confident that their employees rested longer and calmer than themselves, and 29% admitted that they even thought about demotion for the sake of the opportunity to fully disconnect from work. This is evidenced by data from a survey of analysts of the SOK smart office network, which was reviewed on January 21 by Izvestia.

The authors of the study found out how managers evaluate the first working week of the new year. According to their feelings, it passed without much enthusiasm. Only 25% noted that employees quickly got involved in the work, 24% heard comments from subordinates in the spirit of "another day to rest," and 16% admitted that they did not monitor the mood of the team, considering the fulfillment of tasks as part of professional responsibility.

The pace of work in the teams, according to 26% of respondents, was lower than usual. Managers also recorded an increase in employee distraction and distraction (22%), decreased initiative (21%) and increased fatigue (20%). Positive changes, such as increased engagement and entrepreneurship, were noted by only 10% and 11% of respondents, respectively.

However, not all managers perceive the January "shakeup" as a problem. Almost a third of the respondents (32%) are not worried about the temporary reduction in discipline, while 22% remain calm, as some of the tasks were completed back in December. Another 26% admitted that they feel moderate anxiety, but consider the situation to be under control, while 20% fear that plans for January may not be fulfilled.

Price request: the State Duma wants to force businesses to index salaries by inflation

Experts are arguing whether this will turn into a new round of price pressure and shadow schemes.

To speed up the return of teams to a working rhythm, 34% of managers decided to use a bonus system. Most often, we are talking about bonuses for meeting January KPIs — 38% of respondents chose this option. Another 36% reward the most involved employees with bonuses from the company or partners, while 26% rely on collective rewards. At the same time, 36% consider the optimal bonus amount to be 5-10 thousand rubles per person, 34% are ready to allocate 10-15 thousand, 17% — up to 5 thousand, and 11% call the comfortable range 15-20 thousand rubles.

Among the intangible management tools that help to get back to work, clear planning with goals and deadlines was most often mentioned (29%), increased control through task tracking and daily reports (26%), as well as the return of employees to the office (25%). 19% of managers consider team meetings to be effective for work synchronization.

At the same time, only one in eight survey participants named the return of employees to a working rhythm as the main priority of the beginning of the year. For 16%, it is more important that projects and business as a whole do not "sink" after the holidays. In January, managers also focused on strategic tasks: reviewing the team's composition and development scenarios (23%) and forming key benchmarks and a base for work in 2026 (21%).

On January 19, Get experts consulting company presented the results of an annual labor market study, according to which the share of employers who have reduced the number of employees has increased 2.5 times in two years, from 10% in 2023 to 25% in 2025. The main reason for the cuts was financial difficulties, which 66% of respondents indicated. Other factors include a change in the organizational structure — 37%, difficulties in finding new employees or replacing current ones — 22%, a shortage of qualified specialists — 17%, as well as a decrease in sales or the sale of part of the business — 13%.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.