By Rebecca Rea
Your alarm goes off and for the first time in a long time you get yourself dressed and ready for work. Maybe your stomach has dropped and you’re dreading the day ahead, or maybe you’ve got a spring in your step and can’t wait to be reacquainted with your favourite coffee mug.
For some people a return to work can be something to look forward to, a sign of improved health and wellbeing or an eagerness to re-discover your identity in the workplace. For others this can be the first real test of separation from a young child or an uncomfortable obligation due to financial restraints. No matter the reason for your return to work (for me, it was after a not-so-smooth 9 month maternity leave which had me begging for adult conversation and freedom from nap schedules) this can be a stressful time full of anxiety of the unknown – what have I missed? Has anyone even noticed I’ve been gone? Can I even do my job anymore?
Here’s a few things to consider to make that return to work a bit easier, or at least remind you that you’re going to ACE this.
Get your head in the game
Never has Troy Bolton sang truer words (Gen Z – go look it up). There may come a point in your time away, where you are hit with inspiration and maybe even excitement at the prospect of returning to work. Capture that excitement and run with it – research your industry, read up on some relevant articles on LinkedIn, buy a new book on the subject, feed that inspiration any way you can. For me this meant I didn’t feel I was behind the times when I walked into the office that first day, instead I was invigorated with fresh ideas.
But remember, there’s a time and a place for this. Don’t be trying to read LinkedIn articles when you’re ankle-deep in dirty nappies and milk bottles, and avoid this approach if your mental health means you need a complete black-out from anything work related.
Click here if you’ve forgotten your password
Excited to get stuck in first day back? Woah there. You will have forgotten your passwords. Your laptop will need to update. Someone will have sat in your chair and changed the settings. Make sure you allow time to deal with all of these things. Don’t expect to dive right into calls and emails straight off the bat, you’ll probably be on the phone to IT all morning before you can actually start any work. But try not to stress over this - see it as a nice gradual return to work, and just make sure you have nothing important scheduled that first morning.
Catch up
All that networking and relationship building you did before you left? Time to reap the benefits! Ask for time with your key contacts so they can catch you up on the big changes you missed. Of course it’s always useful to read up on newsletters but nothing beats the honest truth you get in a face-to-face meeting – that implementation that didn’t go too smoothly, that team that aren’t pulling their weight, that change to the brand of coffee, it’s good to get your ear to the ground and hear some real feedback from around the business on the current state of play. This doesn’t have to be a monopoly on people’s time, even just a half hour can help.
Slow down
You may have been able to juggle an unending amount of tasks prior to your time away, jumping from email to email, a quick call to so-and-so, all whilst finishing up with that report your boss wants by the end of the day. But don’t hold yourself to those same standards immediately upon your return, it takes time to get back into the swing of things. And if you’ve been on maternity leave, your brain chemistry has physically altered, you are just not the same person you were before.Â
That’s not to say you won’t get back up to speed, and you should still push yourself if that’s your ambition, but don’t expect it to happen on day one. Here’s a few tips to slow yourself down if you’re an avid multitasker like me:
Take your time to reply to emails. If it’s not urgent, flag it for later and give yourself an hour or two. No one expects an immediate reply anyway, so give yourself some time to mull over a quality response.
Timebox your calendar. There’s a lot of methods of timeboxing out there, but even just adding an event to your calendar dedicated to a specific task can help fix your mindset towards working on just one thing.
Start scheduling meetings for 45 or 50 minutes rather than the full hour, and try to stick to it! This gives you a bit of breathing space if you’re going to be back-to-back all day.
Take breaks throughout the day. I know this one you hear all the time anyway but this is really worth doing in that first week back at work. Sit outside for 10 minutes if you can, have a little stretch and a biscuit, then come back to your work feeling refreshed.
Don’t add to your plate
This is such a common mistake, I’m guilty of this myself, but it’s such an easy trap to fall into. You’ve been away from work and everyone has managed without you (through maternity cover or otherwise), at first you’re not essential to meetings and you might get missed off some invites. There are projects in-flight that you’ve never even heard of and nobody seems to be asking for your help, maybe this return to work won’t be so hard after all? In fact, you should make yourself useful and offer to do XYZ. STOP. Do not send that email.
Eventually your workload will crank back up to the usual levels, possibly even more, so remember you will get back to being busy and the last thing you’ll need is another measuring stick to beat yourself with.Â
That’s not to say new challenges are completely off the table. If there’s something you’ve been wanting to do and now’s the best time to do it then go for it! But make sure you’re communicating upwards how this will affect your usual workload.
You’ve got this.
No matter whether you put these tips into use, or decide to just wing it on that first day back, please don’t doubt yourself. I know how easy it is to question your abilities, your skillset and your self-worth at a time like this, but give yourself some grace and before you know it you’ll be running the place.
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