One of the biggest blind spots in many organizations is the assumption that women return from maternity leave exactly as they were before. But motherhood changes a person. Women return with new perspectives, new strengths, new priorities, and yes, often new needs too. Yet many workplaces still expect them to perform exactly as before, without acknowledging the transformation that has taken place. Instead of adapting systems and support structures around this reality, the pressure is often placed entirely on the individual woman to “keep up” and fit back into old ways of working. The result? Burnout. Disengagement. And the loss of talented women who no longer see a sustainable future for themselves within the organization. This isn’t a motherhood problem. It’s a leadership and workplace design problem. Organizations that want to retain top talent need to stop treating parental transitions as an inconvenience and start recognizing them as a critical leadership moment — one that requires clear processes, trained managers, empathy, and realistic reintegration support. Because women don’t come back “less than.” They come back changed. And when supported well, often stronger in ways organizations desperately need. If your organization is ready to rethink how maternity leave and return-to-work transitions are supported, let’s connect. I work with companies to create smoother, more human-centered maternity leave processes that strengthen employees, managers, teams, and culture alike. The future of work must include mothers — and we have an opportunity to shape that future together. #Parentalleave #ReturnToWork #WomenInLeadership #FutureOfWork #EmployeeExperience

One of the biggest blind spots in many organizations is the assumption that women return from maternity leave exactly as they were before. But motherhood changes a person. Women return with new perspectives, new strengths, new priorities, and yes, often new needs too. Yet many workplaces still expect them to perform exactly as before, without acknowledging the transformation that has taken place. Instead of adapting systems and support structures around this reality, the pressure is often placed entirely on the individual woman to “keep up” and fit back into old ways of working. The result? Burnout. Disengagement. And the loss of talented women who no longer see a sustainable future for themselves within the organization. This isn’t a motherhood problem. It’s a leadership and workplace design problem. Organizations that want to retain top talent need to stop treating parental transitions as an inconvenience and start recognizing them as a critical leadership moment — one that requires clear processes, trained managers, empathy, and realistic reintegration support. Because women don’t come back “less than.” They come back changed. And when supported well, often stronger in ways organizations desperately need. If your organization is ready to rethink how maternity leave and return-to-work transitions are supported, let’s connect. I work with companies to create smoother, more human-centered maternity leave processes that strengthen employees, managers, teams, and culture alike. The future of work must include mothers — and we have an opportunity to shape that future together. #Parentalleave #ReturnToWork #WomenInLeadership #FutureOfWork #EmployeeExperience

Our founder, Hannah Short, hits the nail on the head regarding maternity return. Returning to work isn't just a date in the diary—it’s one of the biggest identity shifts a person can go through. At The Coaching Nest, we’re on a mission to move past the "laptop switch-on" and focus on what really matters: confidence, clarity, and genuine reintegration. That’s why we’re so excited that Hannah will be co-hosting an upcoming webinar with Franziska Schimm from Cape Consulting (HR) Ltd and Rachel Billington to dive deeper into these exact themes. Join us for: 60 Days Beyond the Hype: Building a Sustainable Give to Gain Culture We’ll be discussing how organisations can stop the "hype" and start building cultures that actually support and retain parents. Save your seat here: https://lnkd.in/eKdxWkfg #TheCoachingNest #MaternityTransition #CompanyCulture #GiveToGain #Webinar

Coming back from maternity leave and feeling like you have to prove yourself all over again? I want to reframe that. While you were gone, you made a thousand decisions a day with no rulebook and no precedent. You led under pressure, read the room, and figured things out on almost no sleep. You didn't pause your development - you just did it somewhere nobody gave you credit for it. So when you walk back in and feel like you need to shrink yourself down until you've earned your seat back - stop. You're not starting over. You're walking in with more than you left with. This isn't just for women returning from maternity leave. It's for every woman who has underestimated what she's already built. If this resonates…Her Edit is a one-day professional development programme for women returning to work after maternity or caregiving leave. We're running the pilot on 11th June in Shropshire. Link in comments. 👇 #HerEdit #PerformingPerfectly #ReturnToWork #WomenInLeadership #MaternityLeave #CareerDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #HighPerformance #WomenAtWork

This Mother's Day, we're celebrating all the working moms and are thrilled to highlight one of our own 💐 One of our team members recently shared her journey through parental leave, motherhood, and returning to work as a changed person. Her words stopped us in our tracks: "I was fortunate enough to come back to a team who allowed me the space for my whole self, not just the version they had worked with before." That's the culture we strive to build at Project Scientist — one where growth doesn't pause at the office door, and where life's biggest transitions are met with support, not pressure to snap back. But we'll be honest: we know there's still more work to do. Longer leave. More equitable support for all parents, regardless of gender. Stronger structures that make it easier for every team member to return as their full, evolved self. As organizations across the country scale back parental leave benefits, we're doubling down on our commitment to the humans behind the work. Because the best gift we can give working mothers isn't a card — it's a workplace that sees them whole. Read Sarah Witsken (White)'s full story at https://lnkd.in/e9cxqA3v #HappyMothersDay #WorkingMoms #ParentalLeave #WorkplaceCulture #ProjectScientist #Leadership

Many companies lose female talent after maternity leave and don’t fully understand why. Most women don’t leave immediately after becoming mothers. They leave after months of trying to make unsustainable systems work. What often looks like “a personal decision” is actually the result of: – unclear transitions – unsupported re-entry – invisible emotional load – leadership cultures that were never designed with parenthood in mind Retention is not only about compensation or perks. It’s about whether employees feel supported, seen, and set up to succeed through major life transitions. Parental leave is one of the clearest moments where culture becomes visible. Especially for leadership talent. If your organization is ready to rethink how maternity leave and return-to-work transitions are supported, let’s connect. I work with companies to create smoother, more human-centered maternity leave processes that strengthen employees, managers, teams, and culture alike. The future of work must include mothers — and we have an opportunity to shape that future together. #Parentalleave #ReturnToWork #WomenInLeadership #FutureOfWork #EmployeeExperience

Many companies lose female talent after maternity leave and don’t fully understand why. Most women don’t leave immediately after becoming mothers. They leave after months of trying to make unsustainable systems work. What often looks like “a personal decision” is actually the result of: – unclear transitions – unsupported re-entry – invisible emotional load – leadership cultures that were never designed with parenthood in mind Retention is not only about compensation or perks. It’s about whether employees feel supported, seen, and set up to succeed through major life transitions. Parental leave is one of the clearest moments where culture becomes visible. Especially for leadership talent. If your organization is ready to rethink how maternity leave and return-to-work transitions are supported, let’s connect. I work with companies to create smoother, more human-centered maternity leave processes that strengthen employees, managers, teams, and culture alike. The future of work must include mothers — and we have an opportunity to shape that future together. #Parentalleave #ReturnToWork #WomenInLeadership #FutureOfWork #EmployeeExperience

Today is Mother's Day. I'm not going to write about how the system fails mothers in the workplace. (It does. But that's not what I want to focus on today.) Instead, here's what can be done to significantly improve the situation for working moms in your teams: ☑️Make sure someone returning from maternity leave doesn't lose a year in the promotion cycle. ☑️Stop scheduling key meetings at school pickup time without asking. ☑️Normalize leaving early for your kids - without the apology, without the guilt. ☑️Promote mothers into leadership not despite being mothers, but recognizing what that experience brings. Happy Mother's Day to all the superstar moms around me 🤍

Returning to work after a period of extended parental leave can be an emotional experience 💙. Adjusting to your new identity as a #workingparent often brings challenges, as you balance new priorities alongside your professional responsibilities. The early months can feel particularly unsettled, especially if you’re relying on childcare during working hours 🏡. Managing nursery pick-up times, along with the inevitable bugs 🤒, can take some careful coordination between you and your partner 🤝. During our Bridge the Gap parental leave sessions, we encourage returning colleagues to be patient and kind to themselves and we share practical tips from our community of working parents 👨👩👧👦 to help make the transition back into the workplace smoother and more manageable. At Jacobs, we recognise how important this period is and our line managers are on hand to support returning parents 🙌. This includes offering #flexibility to help them ease back into work, so they can be the best version of themselves in this new chapter ✨.

Handling returning for maternity leave and being questioned on your commitment… Returning from maternity leave can be a challenging time for many women for so many reasons. Finding the new balance between motherhood and work. Trying to reintegrate into the team when it feels like things have moved on since you’ve been away. Competition and role blurring with the person who covered your role whilst you were off. All of this is of course is amplified if your manager isn’t supportive and seems to be unfairly questioning your commitment. The important thing is to try and maintain a sense of control in the situation by influencing the conversations with your manager like how I demonstrate in this video. 💬 Have you ever been in a position like this, or supported someone who has? Share your experiences in the comments 📌 Please remember the advice offered in this video is generalised and intended for guidance purposes only. It will not fit every situation so please use your own judgment based on your own unique situation. ➕ Follow Claire Benjamin for more strategies on navigating tricky situations at work