From Wellbeing Magazine · Debbie Green · · 1m 10s
What working parents carry back to their desk
Returning parents face emotional and practical shifts after leaving work, but small conversations with managers can ease the transition.
In brief
Returning parents face emotional and practical shifts after leaving work, but small conversations with managers can ease the transition. Working parents returning after parental leave often feel a loss of confidence and changed priorities, but open communication with managers helps them adjust without waiting for…
The return process
Returning parents carry emotional and practical shifts long before they return to work.
The timeline
Most parents return to work three months after birth or adoption, then again after keeping-in-touch days.
The emotional load
Parents return with an emotional load, alongside logistical and identity shifts, all at once.
Confidence gap
Time away and a changed system can knock confidence hard, even in previously confident people.
Ambition shift
Parenting changes priorities but not ambition, making it sharper rather than smaller.
What helps parents
Naming changes and getting clear with managers helps parents adjust without waiting for problems.
Manager actions
Managers should ask what support looks like, not assume, to help parents adjust smoothly.
The main idea
Working parents returning after parental leave often feel a loss of confidence and changed priorities, but open communication with managers helps them adjust without waiting for problems.
