When a career oriented woman gets pregnant she will typically arrange for maternity leave which can last for up to six weeks. During this time she may or may not have pay but even with pay there are challenges that occur during the time off. A new mom may underestimate the lure of her child and have some difficulty coming back to work and leaving her infant. When she does return there may be a disconnect that was not there before making it more difficult to return.
The Problem
Working parents have unique challenges when it comes to balancing work and home life. Although mothers are the primary focus a lot of these problems can be attributed to the fathers as well. Some of the issues that may occur include:
- Lack of pay during maternity leave causing financial difficulty to new parents
- Maternity leave (or paternity leave) is too short causing anxiety for returning parents who are leaving their young children in the care of another
- Stress to get back up to speed from where they were before leaving
- A disconnect with coworkers due to time away from the office
- A sense of exclusion from projects
- A sense that status has declined and previous accomplishments have been forgotten to be started over again
These types of problems have made the decision to stay at home or find another employment opportunity easier for returning moms. Many women who feel some of these problems decided to go ahead and quit their jobs to stay home longer periods and then instead of starting over at their current place of employment start somewhere fresh. This has become a problem for some employers who have felt the strain of missing valuable, trained, loyal employees.
The Solution
Lack of skilled employees can be costly for a company. An employee is an investment and it is more beneficial to retain those you have than to train new ones. Businesses are recognizing the problems with maternity leave and many are coming up with innovative ways to make returning to work more enticing to new moms. Some of them include:
- Paid maternity leave for a set period of time
- Possible extended leave at half pay
- Programs that allow savings toward extended leave
- Part time return options to step up coming back full time
- Work at home opportunities both full and part time
- Communication programs to allow those on leave to keep in touch with their work environment while at home
- On site day care
Employers who think about the challenges new moms have and take action to ensure these are addressed have a higher retention rate than those who do not. Thinking outside the box has allowed some employers to address the financial issues of new mothers allowing them to get paid during their leave. The time away from their infants is also being addressed by allowing for options to include extended leave or stepping up returning gradually. There are even work at home programs and in house day care programs so that new moms can work while remaining close to their children.
When these issues are addressed more moms are happy with coming back to work. They do not feel the sense of loss from either their career or family. The juggling act between work and family responsibilities is made easier. Now, working mothers are more inclined to come back to work at the same place instead of looking for work elsewhere. This benefits both the employer and employee.
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- The Changing Job Climate: Time for Dad
- Finding Quality Child Care by Using State Rating Systems
- The Balancing Act of Work and Family. Is it Possible to Do Both?