Returners’ fear of the unknown impacts on confidence and productivity
‘Maternity returners have a tougher time thriving in their jobs than any other group – even young graduates.’ Timewise survey, The Evening Standard
In all of the returning to work sessions we run; regardless of which organisation, job or level; there is always a common shared concern: a fear of what’s different on return. Many returners will find themselves asking the questions:
- Will I remember …
- Can I still do …
- What if I forget …
Fear of the unknown, is of course, a common phenomenon. It is accentuated by the fact you have spent the last year or so operating in a world which is entirely opposite from the world of work you are about to enter. If you have kept in touch during your leave, much of the fear will have been alleviated – but not always. Here are 2 things you can do to boost your confidence:
- Identify your concerns
In our workshops, we encourage everyone to firstly identify what it is you are worried about – and then make a list. This can be anything from leaving your baby in childcare, to the first team meeting. Once you have a concrete list in front of you, it feels much more organised than having thoughts and worries whirling around in your mind. Make sure you find someone to talk through all your concerns – often, once you have spoken a worry out loud, it somehow doesn’t feel as intense as it was. You will then be able to split the list into 2 – what I can do something about (tick these) and what I can’t control or do anything about (cross these). You will then be left with a smaller number of concerns, which you can then begin to tackle, asking yourself ‘what can I do about this?’ for each point.
- Find out what’s changed
Write a list of questions to ask your manager, your team, and anyone else in your network – especially new people. Make sure you find out what’s changed in all of these areas:
- People (‘are there any new staff? What do they do? What are their backgrounds?’)
- Leadership (‘have there been any changes to the senior leadership team?’)
- Objectives/goals (the team’s and yours)
- Procedural (‘are there any new procedures I need to be aware of?’)
- Technical (‘what technical changes have there been that impact me or the team?’)
- Cultural (‘have you noticed any cultural changes?’)
- Legal (‘are there any legal changes I need to be aware of?’)
- Problems/challenges/barriers (‘what’s the biggest concern to the team at the moment?’)
- Training (‘have there been any training courses since I’ve been away that I need to attend?’)
As you’re going through the list of questions, find out also how people feel about the changes – this will give you a good indicator of the current team morale and any cultural changes. Returning from leave may feel like you are jumping into the unknown, but it is actually a huge opportunity; a fact-finding mission! No one minds you asking the questions; but they may mind if you don’t ask and then make a series of errors (which wouldn’t do your confidence any good either).
Feel free to share this with other parents who are about to return to work following maternity or Shared Parental Leave – or post on your company’s intranet.