Returning to Work. A Guide for New Parents

Transcription

1 Returning to Work A Guide for New Parents You just welcomed a new child into your family, and now it s time to return to work. You ve managed your transition to leave and have a tentative date for your return. Now what? This guide will help you: Prepare for and navigate communication between you and your manager. Create a plan that allows you and your manager to feel confident about their return to work. Critical conversations and planning Unconscious bias & parents Inclusion and belonging

2 Checklist #1 The Lead-Up to Your Return to Work Maybe it s been months since you last spoke with your manager. Maybe you ve been in frequent touch, sending updates or bringing in the baby to meet your team. Whatever the case, you know that soon it will be time to make the transition back to work - a transition that can bring up both logistical and emotional challenges. Use the following checklist and tips to help yourself, and your manager, ensure a smooth transition back to work for you and the rest of your team. Finalize a return date Ideally, before you went on leave the you set a tentative return date with your manager. If nothing has changed, a few weeks before your planned return date, reach out to your manager to confirm the date so that you are both on the same page. If there are changes to your tentative date, let your manager know as soon as is feasible. Bonus tip: Sometimes it can be an easier transition if your first week of work is a short week. Consider returning on a Wednesday or Thursday. This will allow you to more thoughtfully transition your baby to their caregiver and it ll allow you the emotional respite of a quickly-approaching weekend so that you can more smoothly transition. Ensure you have a quality caregiver lined up Often, the hardest part of returning from leave is leaving your baby in the care of another. It can take time to find a quality nanny or daycare. In order to be present and ready to work on your first day back, make sure that you have a trusted care provider lined up and ready to go. Ensure you have communicated your needs around a lactation room If you plan to pump, inform your manager that you ll need access to a private lactation room when you return. Your company may already have such a room set up and ready, or you may be the first to need one. Letting your manager know in advance allows them the time to prepare a room if one wasn t set up already. Do a dry run of your first day back Before you return to work, do a dry run. Make sure you have a checklist for all the items that your baby will need with the caregiver, and that you have a checklist for everything you ll need to bring with you. If you are used to just grabbing your wallet/keys and being on your way out the door, you ll want a system to remember to bring all those new items (like a pump). Make sure you know how long it will take to drop off/pick up the baby so that you are on time. Bonus tip: Allow yourself a little extra time in the morning on that first day back. The daycare/nanny drop off might be harder, or take longer, than you expect.

3 If offered by your employer, consider if an alternative work arrangement might work best for you Alternative or flexible work arrangements can make a big difference in easing a new parent's return to work. But these options may or may not be available within your organization. If you think an alternative work arrangement might be best for you, even if just for a short time while you are transitioning back to work, make sure to voice this to your manager. Bonus tip: Alternative or flexible work arrangements can take many forms. See the table below for some options that returning employees and managers might consider. Type Predetermined Work-from-Home As-needed Work-from-Home Alternative Work Compressed Part-Time/Reduced Description Regularly scheduled Work-from-home/remotely days or schedule Ability to work-from-home under certain conditions; not a set schedule A full-time schedule with variable and/or non-traditional start and end times A full-time schedule that is condensed into less than five days (few days, longer hours) Less than full-time work schedule

4 Checklist #2 Once You ve Returned to Work The first days, weeks, and even months back to work for a new parent employee can feel like starting all over again. Along with taking care of a newborn, you ll need to get caught up on what s happened at work while you were out on leave - the adjustment to a new normal can be jarring. Use the following checklist and tips to ensure you are setting yourself up for success once you return to work. Be prepared for change When you return to work, you might be coming back to a work environment that may look different than the one you left. Responsibilities, team structures, even company culture may have shifted while you were gone. Try to take it all in without judgement and learn as much as you can about the new normal. Bonus tip: In addition to re-establishing yourself in your position, it s a good idea to rekindle your relationships with your colleagues. Think about going for lunch or grabbing coffee with a couple of colleagues each week to get reacquainted, and find out what s been going on at work while you ve been gone, informally. Thank your coworkers (and manager) While you ve been gone, your coworkers and manager have been handling your job, in addition to their own. Make sure they know how much you appreciate them. If it s your style, consider thank you notes, s, or even bringing in a treat. Establish a work transition plan Your manager may already have a detailed plan regarding the transition of your work back to you, but if not, take the lead here. Meet with your manager and each of the colleagues who have been handling your responsibilities and get an update on where things stand. Together, select a date to fully transition each responsibility back to you. Bonus tip: You may find that your colleagues are eager to return your work to you, or in some cases, they might be reluctant to give something back. In the case of the latter, make sure to bring this up for discussion with your manager. There might be a good reason to leave the responsibility with the person who was handling it when you were away. And you might prefer that as well. Show your commitment through goal-setting You may have goals that you set prior to going on leave, or you may be coming back to a blank slate. Consider creating a day plan for yourself and sharing it with your manager. Discuss what feel realistic for you, as goals may look different than they were before leave. Goal-setting will serve a dual purpose of ensuring that you and your manager both share a vision of what success looks like and ensuring that your manager knows that you are committed to reintegrating as a productive member of the team asap.

5 I must have missed class when they taught this. Oh yeah, they don t teach this. Grow the team you love Love the career you grow