Returning to Work

It’s 2am.. I’m so tired. Millie has been sick on herself. Its dark in her nursery.. maybe I am wrong. Maybe she wasn’t sick.. I mean.. she didn’t wake up. She is fast asleep in my arms… wait.. no she has definitely thrown up. But she’s asleep.. Do I wake her? I’m so tired.. Surely I can’t put her back in her cot… can I? I’m so tired… its only her sleeve.. maybe I could put her back down? Wait that’s wrong.. isn’t it? What’s worse.. waking a sleeping baby to change them? Or letting them sleep in a soiled onesie… I’m so tired. Maybe she won’t wake up.. the load of clean laundry is right by the cot.. I don’t even have to hunt for clean clothes.. I bet I can do this in the dark..

And that’s when it hits me. I go back to work in less than 2 months.

It’s a funny thing Maternity Leave. I spent 9 months on the lead up to mine wondering how on earth I was going to fill my time. Babies just sleep all day right? Spoiler alert, no they don’t. Not all babies sleep all the time. Although I’m sure some do, this one definitely doesn’t. ?Throw in the ever growing pile of laundry, the baby proofing, breastfeeding, playtime, sensory classes, nursery rhymes, nappies, weaning books, and reciting Hairy MacClary from Donaldsons Dairy by heart, and you’ve got yourself a full time job. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on next to no sleep.

I had originally planned to come back to work in February, so returning in May seems like quite the luxury. My husband had a change of job mid maternity leave, and so we were no longer in a position to do shared parental leave. This has left me pivoting from excited to go back, and nervous about what to expect, I can’t help but wonder what the Reward world has been up to in my absence.

Looking back, when going on Maternity leave the working from home elective was finally starting to lift. Mental note- a smart shirt paired with my comfiest leggings is probably no longer considered appropriate business attire.

I left the market very junior heavy. Businesses were sticking their heads up above the office partitions as the pandemic evened out, and were building their teams out from the bottom up. The HRIS sector was booming with companies wanting to make improvements to old systems, upgrading, configuring and streamlining for a more flexible working environment.

And so here I am. Excited to see what I’ve missed and get back into it. I’d love to catch up with you to hear what I’ve missed and what the market is doing, so get in touch if you fancy a coffee. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!