6 gentle ways to return from maternity leave

It was a lot easier returning to work after my second baby. This is why.

July 14, 2023

Being a parent has taught me so much.

It’s made me work smarter, and be a lot kinder to myself. Plus I’m more motivated than ever to keep helping conscious businesses grow through my work at Harvey. I have two kids now, which means I have two extremely compelling reasons to help build a better, lovelier, more sustainable world.

Returning to work after months at home with a baby is far from easy. I wrote about some of the key challenges I faced here.

I’m happy to report the transition has been MUCH smoother the second time around.

Here are six things that helped:

  1. Kindness always - Patience and encouragement from colleagues is great, but it’s even more important to be gentle with myself, and acknowledge and honour the transition that’s happened.
  2. Don’t fake it ’til you make it - Being honest about where I’m at with my team took the pressure off massively. During the first month back, I opted for low intensity, internal work instead of highly strategic client jobs.
  3. Prioritise -  the shift from full-time to part-time has meant I’ve had to prioritise the work where I can to add the most value.
  4. Ask for help - This sounds like the easiest one but it can be the hardest. I’m getting better at delegating and bringing people in. Not only is it more productive - it’s more fun too!
  5. Accept the compliment - I’m learning to just say ‘thank you’ when somebody says something nice, either at home or at work. Because what I’m doing is important.
  6. This too shall pass - Like everything in parenthood, and in life, knowing it is just a season, and a normal regression for progression helps. I eventually got back to performing at the standard I always had, arguably better with the new skills that motherhood equipped me with (empathy, prioritisation, multi-tasking, etc.). I also did eventually sleep again. So trust the process!

It’s so important to support parents who are re-entering the workforce. What helped you ease back into work after becoming a parent?

The Harvey team at work

Love,

Beck

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