They witness
- Frédéric Asselineau, Analyst
- Dr Marc Rey, sleep specialist
- Tristan-Frédéric Moir, psychoanalyst specializing in the language of dreams
Customers will arrive. The 150-page powerpoint is ready. Everything is under control. You head for the meeting room but… she’s gone. And then suddenly you realize that you are in an unfamiliar building. The meeting starts in 10 minutes.
And then you wake up in a panic.
However, you are on vacation!
Why do we dream of working during the holidays?
The man spends more than half of his adult life working, sharing more or less strong moments with his colleagues. No wonder his professional environment feeds his imagination once he is asleep. “The world of work is complete. People have functions, a position like in a family. It also represents a search for meaning in life.says analyst Frédéric Asselineau.
Furthermore, sleep patterns change during vacations. Happy to no longer have time constraints, the first week is often conducive to long evenings and sleepy mornings. The opportunity to recover. “If sleep is longer, so is REM sleep, so dreams are more numerous but they are also more charged and more complex”explains Dr. Marc Rey, sleep specialist.
Dreams related to work can correspond to work on oneself.
What signals do dreams of work during the holidays send?
If employees sleep more, it is sometimes difficult for them to disconnect. Dream about not being able to attend an important meeting is a classic for the beginning of the holidays. This dream catalyzes situations of failure that we have experienced at work, but also feelings of failure or even simple fears of not performing. “During the holidays, you have to detach yourself from everyday life, get out of the habit of automatisms. Dreams related to work are often an anticipation of stress, explains Tristan-Frédéric Moir, a psychoanalyst specializing in the language of dreams, but it can also correspond to work on oneself”.
Some managers who reach a certain age or level of responsibility may fear a certain emptiness. Paul, director of studies in a large company, admits having trouble picking up during his holidays. He imagines calling colleagues in the middle of the night or waking up suddenly with a list of tasks to remember. “I remember especially the most unpleasant dreams”, he specifies. In his case, the nightmare translates a form of malaise that needs to be treated.
What do dreams of working on vacation mean?
One of the most useful functions of dreams is to release tension. Dreaming is therefore a positive process if we pay attention to it when we wake up. But be careful to go beyond the first degree: “The author of the dream being the dreamer, he imagines all the characters”, warns Frédéric Asselineau. So many subjects that can shed light on a personality:
Dreaming about his boss
In the dream, the boss may represent “a father, a teacher, oneself as a boss, or anyone connected with authority”, points out Frédéric Asselineau. Dreaming of your boss does not necessarily mean that you are thinking of him.
Dreaming of a raise
For Tristan-Frédéric Moir, dreaming of a raise is not a premonition but rather “the sign that we allow ourselves an increase in our value”. Perhaps the translation of a feeling of lack of recognition in his work.
Dreaming about his colleagues
Also be careful not to misinterpret if some of your colleagues show up in your dreams. They actually represent parts of oneself, with which one is combined or not.
“What is important is the coloring of the dream. What you feel is more interesting than the scene itself”adds Frédéric Asselineau.
And if the dreams of work become obsessive even during the holidays, it may be time to consult … or change jobs!
First published: August 11, 2019 – Updated: 7/26/2022