Travel website TripAdvisor, which polled 1,400 Americans, said for 64% the blues descend even before the holiday is over.
Day five of a one-week trip is the most anxiety-inducing and for 4% of travellers worrying begins from the first day of the trip.
"Being greeted by hundreds, if not thousands, of work e-mails upon their return from vacation looms large for many Americans and they avoid that by checking in, fake-cation style, while they're away," said Josey Miller, a travel expert with the website.
Thirty-four per cent of people said most of the reluctance to return home stems from the idea of returning to work. Nineteen per cent said they feel an immediate strain from the first day back and 43% feel it within the first week.
Eighty-four per cent said their stress levels returned to pre-vacation highs soon after returning.
"How can you feel refreshed post-vacation if you never really allowed yourself to fully enter a carefree, blissful state of mind?" Miller added.
Twelve per cent of people admitted calling in sick within the first month of returning from a vacation. Eight per cent considered finding a new job and 4% were regularly late for work.
The No. 1 method to stop the post-vacation blues is to start planning another holiday, according to the poll.
"While many Americans struggle to maintain the feel-good factor upon returning to work and a daily routine after a terrific summer vacation, the process of planning another getaway helps 73% of travellers remain upbeat," said Karen Drake, TripAdvisor's senior director of communications.
Viewing pictures or a video of the trip helped 52% of people and 41% said creating a photo album helped them beat the blues.
