Working Mums in the UK
Working Mums in the UK

Going back to work after a period of maternity leave, whether you are returning to the same employer or branching out with a new employer is always a difficult thing to do. There are lots of things to make you nervous and any mum who says that she wasn’t nervous about returning to work is probably not being honest.

For a start there are practical things to think about. Who has been doing your work while you have been away? Have they done it well or made a mess of it? Have they done it too well?

What about your baby, babies or your children: how are they going to cope without Mummy there 24 hours per day? How will you cope without them?  What will life be like when you drop them off at the Childminders or Nursery?

Some women feel differently about work when they return. They may have missed the money when they were off on maternity leave and find that maternity pay just doesn’t go very far, but then when they come back to work, they find that things have changed, personnel may have altered or the way things are done may have altered. But this doesn’t mean that if you do go back to work, you have to just ‘put up’ with a situation that has altered and one you may no longer like: if you do go back and don’t like your work, then you can keep an eye out for another position. You could even consider going to work as a temp or registering with a local recruitment agency and in these ways you can ensure that you keep all your options open.

So don’t be afraid of going back to work, just look on it as the next step in life’s journey. You may go back and immediately love it, or you may go back and find out that you want something different. You may miss your baby or children terribly, or you may relish the freedom, but until you try it, you won’t know how you will react, so go for it!