Iv been back at work after maternity now since January of this year, before i left i was pretty close to moving up the ladder and I did expect a bit of work to get back to where i was before i had 12 months off.
However since iv been back iv found it such hard work to get noticed again, i am finally in a position where i am looked on favorably again when i volunteer for projects but i feel a bit like some of the people i am being asked to work with think i'm just a little upstart that doesn't know much, even though iv been with the company for four years.
it doesn't help that since iv been away my manager had changed and a lot of the office dynamics seem to have changed.
I feel like i'm having to work really hard to get noticed, yet stop myself going to far in case i offend someone.
should it be this difficult? if not, i cant work out what i'm doing wrong, i try and be friendly and nice to people, but i do find social small talk difficult.
My manager is kind to me and is helping to pave my way back up to the top of the ladder, but i feel like i just need to talk about it, and really i cant be 100% honest with him as he is also someone i need to impress.