HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE THE WORKPLACE AFTER CHILDREN?

Whether your maternity leave is short or long, the feeling of returning work and how you will manage this is never far from your mind.

This is an important topic as we know when a parent returns to work after having or caring for a baby it can often be a challenging transition. New parents are juggling a lot – whether it’s emotional guilt of leaving their baby, new childcare logistics and routine, as well as inevitable curve balls such as when their little one is unwell.

We know many of you are in this position, so we hosted a workshop to tackle this with Working Wonder, a coaching and training consultancy which focuses on creating work happiness for teams, individuals and businesses.

They gave us brilliant tips and insight into how to navigate this path and why what can seem like a negative, could actually be a positive.

Firstly, the world of work has changed post-pandemic and hybrid working, once seen as unattainable by many, has become normalised allowing greater flexibility especially for working parents.

By being able to structure your days in a way that suits your needs you can achieve a better work/life balance whilst remaining as productive as ever.

It is important to note that whilst you are not the same person you were before children, this can be a positive and as everyone parent knows, the ability to function on minimal sleep as well as the ability to multi-task should not be underestimated as a skill set!

Continuing the theme of viewing change as a positive is worth remembering when dealing with imposter syndrome, especially as a working parent. Changing your outlook is key here and you should be thinking about what your enhanced or new ‘superpowers’ are since becoming a parent and how this can be translated into the workplace.

If you are currently or soon to be in this position, here some key questions to think about:

• How do I want work to fit into my life?

• What do I need from my job to make me happy?

• What are my non-negotiables?

If this sounds like something you would like to explore in more detail, it is worth speaking with a career coach such as Working Wonder who can provide valuable support, by offering a non-judgmental confidential space to put yourself and your career first.

Naturally this will be personal to you and your circumstances, but it is important to think about your set up and what you need to make your work, work for you and your family.