Let’s face it: Going back to work after having a baby is hard. You feel like you’ve just stepped into a fast-running river, and you’re slipping and sliding as you try to match your rhythm to the pace of your colleagues.
Click start to play today’s Spell It, where we navigate the best way to return to work after maternal ‘leave’.
The intense physical and psychological adjustment of this huge transition can become overwhelming for new mums. But there are some ways you can navigate those first few weeks back at work. Here are a few tips:
1. Be gentle with yourself
You should not take your emotional temperature in the first few weeks, advises an August 2019 report in US-based business news website Harvard Business Review. Many people often return to work after parental leave and are in two minds about whether they should quit. But the fact remains, you’re likely tired and full of self-doubt – it’s an emotional time, and too early to make such important decisions as quitting your job. Remind yourself that you’ll get through the difficult adjustment phase, and that it’s only temporary.
2. Start mid-week
There are a lot of aspects of your schedule that you can manage and plan, to make the transition easier. For instance, if you have the option, you could go back to work part-time initially, so that some of the pressure of juggling both work and home life is lifted from your shoulders. On the downside, this could send a message to the rest of your colleagues that you are no longer working in the same way you used to, and your attention has shifted. You could alternatively go back to work full-time immediately, which is a lot harder to do, but brings you back on an equal footing with team members, even if you have radically lowered expectations. Either way, a good idea would be to start work mid-week, so that you can work just two or three days in your first week back, and transition to work slowly, giving you the time to acclimatise.
3. Practice makes perfect
According to Workparent, a US-based consulting firm for working parents and employers, practice runs can help you navigate the new, complicated logistics of managing both work and family life. For instance, your first day of work shouldn’t be the first day your baby goes to a nursery or daycare, or stays at home with a new nanny. Start at least a week earlier, so that your child – and you – get used to the new schedule. It gives you a realistic view of what to expect when you actually begin work.
What other useful lessons have you learned when transitioning to work after having a baby? Play today’s Spell It and share them with us at games@gulfnews.com.
