The return from maternity leave

The Juggle

I did not feel very confident in myself when I returned to paid work. For a year I had been juggling three incredibly difficult jobs -for which I had received little training, no professional development and I had no line manager to give me feedback and recognition. 

On returning to paid work, I was able to temporarily offload my childcare responsibilities -at a prohibitive cost. However, I had to continue with my other unpaid roles after I returned from my paid work. I was keen to get some recognition for the substantial sacrifice and effort I was making -so I applied for a couple of promotions. Of course, as a sleep-deprived part-timer who couldn’t make all the meetings, I didn’t get them. 

I wished for a magic fairy to come and tell me that I mattered and that I was doing a good job, but she didn’t appear. However, I found someone even better: a Life coach. While she couldn’t do magic, she set me on a path which led me to realise that I could promote myself, give myself a break, some recognition and that positive feedback I was so desperate for. 

I began to value myself again and do more work that I enjoyed (and less that I didn’t) and finally I started to feel confident again. I am no longer an unappreciated unpaid worker -I am my own line manager. During our weekly review I decided to hire a co-worker (cleaner) so that I would have the time to write this. I will now give myself some positive feedback and commission another piece. Good job!

Let’s be honest about the personal and financial costs we pay when we return to paid work and consider the sacrifices that we are -and aren’t -prepared to pay. Here are some questions to ask yourself when returning to paid work:

• What is important to you about work?

• Which aspects of your paid and unpaid work do you enjoy?

• What does your paid work give you that your unpaid work does not?

• If you were your own manager, what decisions would you make?