Maternity Leave: how to make returning to work as smooth as possible

Returning after a year away

I’ve just returned to The Developer Society after a year of maternity with my gorgeous daughter Poppy. This is no easy feat as you have to take a step back from being your child's number one to helping them start nursery or share them with grandparents. Not only is this a massive change for you and your family but you also have to get your mind back into work and remember what you do for a living after 12 months away!

Thankfully, although I still want to spend every day with my daughter, I wasn’t nervous about coming back to work. From the moment of announcing my pregnancy and handing over my work as my due date neared to logging back in on my first day back, I have felt totally supported.

In the UK, according to Made for Mums, 1 in 4 women don’t go back to work and poor return-to-work support is driving 100,000 mums out of work each year. This is such a sad statistic that is putting so much pressure on women to choose between family and work rather than having a supportive and flexible company that tries to work with you.

So why did I feel supported and happy to come back to work?

1. Well, firstly, I have a kick-ass, supportive, mum boss who has been through this with her children and along with the wider team wanted to build a process and package that supports what women like me need.
2. I had up to 10 paid KIT days (keeping in touch days) that I could use as I wished. I could take none or all of them, it was my choice with no pressure. I ended up taking 3 to say hi to people and hear about the latest news. That was enough for me and the child support I had.
3. Communication was on my terms. I could choose email, whatsapp, phone calls or I could log in to slack if I wanted to say hi and share pictures.
4. Flexibility to return to work - using my accrued hours to ease back in with shorter weeks. Looking at going to part time at 4 days a week so I can spend an extra day with my daughter. All of these were easy to bring up and discuss with my boss and we were able to easily and smoothly come to a great outcome for all of us.
5. My re-onboarding has been calm and relaxed. My maternity cover is staying on for an extended period to finish their projects whilst I slowly pick up new ones. There is no bombardment or need to pick everything up on day 1.

More than just a policy

I won’t be the first or last woman to feel the pressure to pick up where I left off, or feel imposter syndrome as I get back into project management and working with partners. But the Developer Society has made quite a pivotal time as smooth and calm as they possibly can. I will be forever grateful for this. It is a living breathing example of all the values that the Developer Society holds - cooperation, human-centered, equity and empowerment… and I’m really proud to work here.

I’m also pleased to say that at DEV we have 10 working parents and space to talk about family life whilst delivering for all our amazing partners. So, here’s to normalising flexibility in the workplace and doing the little and large things to help making returning to work that little bit easier.

Looking back, it wasn't a special programme or a secret formula. It was just people taking the time to communicate, be flexible and make space for a big life change.

Everything changes overnight when you become a parent; having people around me who understood that, and worked with me rather than expecting me to pick up exactly where I left off, made coming back to work feel a lot less daunting.

What's one change your org could make to support returning parents? We'd love to hear what's working for you.