A welcome back means more when the work has been prepared for your return.

Returning from leave, illness or absence is harder when nothing was held for you. A stack of saved decisions, an inbox nobody sorted, a project that moved without anyone noting where: the welcome is warm and the first day is a wall. Preparation is what makes a return feel like a return rather than a penalty for having been away. It is a small amount of work spread across the people who were there.

Before somebody comes back, write a short note of what changed and what genuinely needs them. Keep the first morning light, and let the pile wait one more day.