maternity leave is too long ?

[lorcana]

• I manage a team of around 30 people - currently 4 are either on mat leave or about to go. All plan to have year off- this is too long imo. I had 5 children and took between 4 weeks and 3 months for each - staff come back deskilled demotivated and completely out of tHe loop. The impact on career and team is enormous - why do people take such long mat leaves ?

What do you do as an employer to support your colleagues to return confidently, motivated and up to speed on new developments?!? It is, after all, a 2 way process.
I could not have returned within your timescales as I had premature twins who a) were not out of hospital
b) when home were being constantly monitored and had to attend many appointments
Now that I have had a year with them and I ready to return my employers have supported me to ensure I return as a skilled worker.

women fought long and hard for the right to work and this constant extension of mat leave seems a retrograde step to me - and many others, women and men, who have to cover these long leave periods.
Is it not better for women families and society to take a shorter period but focus resources on better and cheaper childcare ?
Breastfeeding and work/life balance is still possible ! I breastfed eachbaby for 1 -2 years and feel I have a good balance in my life . It is quality of time not quantity surely ?

I took 3 months off work. I had another 9 months of leave, but back at my desk, getting paid but really not working at 100% of my capacity as I was knackered. Others around had to help take up my work load. Not really fair - I'm sure my employer wished I'd taken more time off so I'd returned as as FTE rather than a zoombie.... (they should have offered pay over the statutory minimum!)

but you were only off 3 months ..... you could have been the same or worse after 12 months ! well done for returning so soon and perservering .

is it not better for women, families and society to focus resources on nurturing the bond with their children? I always assumed the fight was to give women the choice to go back to work and the right to bring up their children themselves if they choose not to. I think it is a strange society that actively encourages mothers not to be with their babies.

SO Lorcana - what have/are you doing to ensure that your staff are not out of the loop, demotivated and deskilled? Are you putting money into childcare on-site to support returning parents? (It'd make it easier to maintain breastfeeding, which as we know reduces absences due to lower rates of illness in breastfed babies.) Or are you just bitching that parents choose to take the leave that is legally available because you can't be bothered to actually manage people?

I've had two experiences of mat leave at the same employer. One boss was great and kept me up to speed with what was going on and offered training as part of keeping in touch days. My current mat leave is coming to its end and I've been begging for information about what's been going on and my boss can't be bothered to get in touch/send an email. So, you know what, this time it'll take me a little longer to get back in the saddle. My fault? The legislation? Or my boss's?

Sorry dnomaid - xpost

As their manager your job is to make sure they are motivated when they come back after one, six or twelve months. You aren't going to change the law - but why put obstacles up to those who want to return to work and manage their family life? If employers want to retain the amazing talent they have in the workplace, they have to work at it. You will know all the rules about flexible working, what does and does not have to be agreed. If it doesn't work in your business, you need to look at you, not your workforce, who in the current climate are probably very keen to have jobs, but also keen to have their lives too.

This from a self employed employer, who had 4.5 months off (and v happy with that decision some years on)

we also have KIT programme but invariably the longer someone is off the less relevant it is and becomes much more tokenistic- most don't bother with them and they are a real trial to get employees to take up.
Breastfeeding is possible when working fulltime- i have done it x 5 .
women should take careers as seriously as motherhood - only then will parity with men be achieved.

What a strange workplace you have where people don't bother with KIT days. They seem to be a great success generally. It must be exhausting being such a superhuman though, well done to you.

Oh seriously, crawl out of your behind. Don't lecture me on taking my career seriously. Or breastfeeding. Because you're not the only one to have managed it. But do put your effort into managing your people.

Now I'm off to see to my daughter. I sincerely hope she doesn't end up working for someone like you.

I think you really need to appreciate not all women feel that way! I would give up work tomorrow if it was financially viable. I completely respect what you have done, wouldn't suggest for one minute that what you have done means you live your children less - but to me, work will always, always come a poor second to my children. And I am certainly not unsuccessful in my job.

Ffs.

Well I've taken 3 mat leaves of 8-10 months in 4 years. I work in the city and head up a global equities team doing a pretty balls busting job. I got promoted between mat leave 2 and 3. I still have more experience and skill than the guys who wanted my job and proved themselves incapable of it in my absence.
Your views are outdated and show you as a poor people manager.

Well done Lorcana on working fulltime after 4 wks of giving birth and breastfeeding all 5 of your children.

My next medal goes to the next woman to admit she was still wearing her pj's at4pm after 4 wks of giving birth. Who also then sucessfully went back to work after maternity leave (however long)

Now, now ladies, don't all shove in at once I got a whole drawer of them for you!

Please do have a

How can us silly, small minded women possibly remember how to do our jobs after such a dreadfully long time? Frankly it's attitudes like yours that hold so many women back.

Nope you're wrong, careers will never be as important as motherhood.
And Xenia, is that you?!

Hi Lorcana

Well women take long maternity leave for a number of reasons, one obvious reason is bcos they want to spend time with their baby-the maxiumum time legally possible. If the law was 6 months at most, women would take just 6 months. If it is there why not use it. I do not think they should shorten maternity leave to less then a year. I think we should also look at the Swedish way of thinking and a study says they also have the happiest kids. A job, one sort or another is a life long thing, but the baby you have just given birth is a once in a lifetime opportunity. That baby will never be a baby again etc. Also, it may be the the woman has had an c section, complications at birth and it takes time for a woman to recover. I think it takes a woman with c section 6 months at least to recover or longer if other complications.

Another difference is you probably get paid alot more then your staff....so you might feel there is alot more to lose career wise then the staff you manage. Maybe they feel they are not progressing their career. I might be wrong of course.

As a manager, you can make it so these staff do not come back demotivated and out of the loop etc - you can keep them updated without intruding, see if they want to use keep in touch days. Maybe you need to ask yourself whether it's your management skills that is causing this. It might not be and that you're a great manager but it's something to think about and internally ask yourself.

Also,you took 4 weeks to 3 months for each child. I am wondering why you only took 3 months at the most for maternity leave? Was it the career aspect, money? I've always wondering why women take short maternity leave?

Hope this helps answer your question:)

But why should women take their careers as seriously as they take motherhood?? Just because you do?!

I love my job, love it! But I see it as that, a job. Maybe I should see it as a career but I see it as a job I enjoy doing but would put motherhood before it 100% (if I ever manage to get pregnant).

Not all jobs are so fast moving that an employee would need retraining after a year anyway, mine certainly isn't.

I work to live, not live to work

Hello val!

I had different lengths of time in my three mat leaves - because of stupid governments changes in allowance. After dc1, three months, dc2 six months and dc3 ten months. Well guess which one resulted in me going back on full power and getting promoted within a month?
That would be the third one, in case the op hadn't guessed (the rest of us who are mere humans will already know the answer)

Random thought here: though isn't the time when you want to spend more time with your child when they are much older (eg 7 +) not when they are tiny? This is the thing that always baffles me about mat leave: the time they need you (not someone) and you want to be with them, is much later on. and of course by that time you've gone back to work and have been there so long the mat leave is forgotten.

not that I agree with Lorcana at all, btw.

i spent a long time training for my career - it is probably one of the most expensive types of professional training. I work in the public sector and feel a sense of responsabilty to those i work with and for.

MrsSherk! Hallo!

your colleagues are more important than your child, Lorcana? That is an interesting viewpoint.