Strategies to improve your transition back to work after maternity leave

Three years into my initiation as a parent to two little boys, I’m  realising that each stage of the first few years throws up unexpected delights and challenges. There’s the nervy time before baby arrives when you’re flat out packing your hospital bag and tweaking the co-sleeper or cot for your brand spanking new arrival.

Then there are the strange twilight weeks of the newborn nights, where time stands still as you move from couch to bed, and back again. Sleep comes . . .  eventually. By then you’re in the whirlwind of life with a toddler – which means they no longer stay still, they move! 

At this stage you may even have learned the power of ‘no’. Before you know it, you’ve learned how to negotiate with a tiny two-year old with nothing but the promise of some oatey bars or a trip to the playground as bargaining tools.

There’s plenty to celebrate too – the first smile and laugh from your baby, as they move out of the newborn phase. The days spent playing with dinosaurs, castles and rocket ships with your toddler as they invite you into the magical world of their imagination. 

And while every day brings a new adventure, this time around I’m attempting to stay one step ahead and identify ways to make this transition from one to two children as gentle as possible.

Returning to work

For instance, hard-won experience has taught me that unfollowing the scores of sleep trainers permeating my feed will, in fact, help me sleep better. Who knew!

And although the prospect of juggling work and two kids is a daunting one, I find myself wondering, surely there are ways to prepare for a return to the workforce ahead of time?

Indeed there are, says Tracy Gunn of award-winning HR platform, Platform55. With a background in leadership development, Tracy and co-founder, Michelle O’Keefe, set up Platform55 having both experienced the challenge of balancing busy demanding careers and young families.

As always, a successful approach all comes down to setting a clear goal from the outset.

Designed to help employees (across the parenting spectrum) and employers who in turn wish to offer support in their own organisations to working parents, one of the services offered by Platform55 is support before, during and after family leave.

And as always, a successful approach all comes down to setting a clear goal from the outset, Tracy advises. “I’ve worked with people taking time out for maternity leave (or parental leave) and then returning to work across the past 10 years,” she explains, “and broadly they tend to fall into a couple of different camps.”

“One set of mothers are very keen to be in their family bubble, and not to be in touch with work. They want to switch off and enjoy this time, which really does pass very quickly. The other set of parents enjoy staying in touch, and get a lot out of being in the loop.”

Along with planning out the logistics of maternity leave, Tracy says the key to success is to be crystal clear from the outset where you stand – and how you’d like your manager or team to stay in touch with you over the time you’re off. “Being explicit and very clear from the get-go is important. If you are someone who wants to have this time to switch off, you need to communicate that upfront,” she explains.

“Similarly, if you are someone who would like to be kept in the loop about certain opportunities like the chance to go for a promotion or changes in the company, equally you need to outline that before you leave so your manager is aware of this.”

Emails and expectations

“It’s important to be clear about how you want to be kept in touch with. Some people don’t want to check their work email while they’re on maternity leave. So, in that case it’s important to outline that before you leave, and request to be updated in another way.’

Along with identifying how you would like to stay in touch with your workplace, there are simple ways to stay on top of broader industry changes too. Emails, newsletters and AI-powered technology can all help here.

“When you’re on maternity leave, you’ll likely find that the days can go quite quickly and often not exactly to plan, so what I’d advise is setting yourself short manageable ways to stay informed,” says Tracy. “You could sign up for news alerts or newsletters that are relevant to your role or profession, or industry. If it’s something you want to do, you could also pick out a couple of relevant podcasts and listen to those if you’re out for a walk with the buggy.”

“Or you could ask Chat GPT for regular updates around your industry and think of it as a helpful tool to keep you informed.”

Keeping in touch kits

Talking to your company about ways they may offer to stay in touch can be helpful too. “Some companies have adopted Keeping In Touch (KIT) days, which are widely used in the UK where you can choose 10 days (which are paid) across your leave to come in and meet people and ease your way back in,” she explains.

“If your company doesn’t offer these, you could see what’s possible informally. For example, are there events or team drinks or evenings you’d like to attend? If there are, it’s a good idea to ask to be included. Oftentimes, employers don’t want to assume you would like to go so will only touch base if you give them the go ahead.”

“Of course,” Tracy notes, “it’s perfectly fine not to do any of this at all if you are someone who wants to take this time out. It does pass very quickly and it’s totally down to the individual how you wish to spend your maternity leave.”

With different ways of working across the board for parents and new mums across Ireland, easing into a return to work for self-employed mothers requires a different approach.

Being self-employed

For content creator and fashion inclusivity advocate, Louise O’Reilly, that means developing efficient ways to make the most of her available time to work, along with taking care of her new daughter, Lexi.

“As I’m self-employed I didn’t have the option of taking a long period off,” she explains. “But what has helped me is to have been very clear on this from before we had Lexi, so I was mentally prepared and also could plan out ways to make it manageable.”

As a content creator who works across video, Substack, and diverse social platforms, Louise has devised clever ways to stay on top of trends.

“I am much better now at being efficient,” she says, “so I look for ways to be selective as to how I gather knowledge. I sign up to newsletters and emails from experts or sites that I know will offer good clear guidance on changes across digital or the wider ecosystem.”

“Or I’ll work ahead and set aside a block of time to shoot content where I’ll shoot a few different things at once.”

Ahead of her daughter’s arrival, Louise looked for ways she could extend her footprint across digital in smart ways. “I set up a Substack about a year ago, it launched the day I found out I was pregnant,” she explains. “And I find that to be a really good way to reach my audience. I’m passionate about helping people and sharing information around plus size fashion, and I’ve found algorithms can make it harder to reach people with content on social.”

“It’s quite an easy way to work as well,” she says. “I can write a piece for Substack using my Notes app on my phone during a feed. It helps me stay in touch with people – and to feel engaged with the wider community while I’m in this whole new phase.”

Helpful advice, it’s clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to easing into the return to work.

But as Tracy and Louise have noted, there are a host of new tech-powered sources of information at our fingertips which offer plenty of simple snackable options to stay up to date – if you wish – ahead of a return to the workplace.