About this session
Returning to work after maternity leave is not simply a return to a previous routine. Employees may be adjusting to physical recovery, disrupted sleep, feeding, childcare arrangements, changing family responsibilities and a workplace that may have evolved during their absence.
The transition can bring mixed emotions, including enthusiasm, worry, guilt, grief, relief or uncertainty about professional identity.
Confidence may also be affected by time away, unfamiliar systems, changed responsibilities or pressure to appear fully settled from the first day back.
This session helps participants prepare before their return, navigate the first weeks and rebuild sustainable working patterns.
It combines practical planning, communication, confidence and wellbeing without assuming that every parent wants the same schedule, feeding arrangement, level of workplace contact or career path.
What your people take away
- Prepare practically and emotionally for the return to work
- Review workload, responsibilities and workplace changes before returning
- Plan conversations about hours, flexibility, feeding, recovery and support
- Rebuild confidence without expecting immediate full capacity
- Establish workable boundaries across employment, parenting and recovery
- Create a phased continuation plan for the first weeks and months back
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- What each length covers, 30 minutes to full day
- Everything that’s covered, part by part
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What each length covers
30 minutes
30 Minutes — Key Points: Prepare for the ReturnA focused 30-minute session on three key points from Prepare for the Return: assess your current starting point, review what has changed at work and clarify your role and initial priorities.
- Assess your current starting point
- Review what has changed at work
- Clarify your role and initial priorities
Covers 3 of 4 points in Prepare for the Return.
60 minutes
Participants assess their readiness, identify the main practical and emotional pressures surrounding the return and clarify their immediate priorities. They leave with a focused preparation checklist and questions for their employer.
- Module 1: Prepare for the Return
- Live Q&A
Covers 1 of 4 parts: Prepare for the Return.
90 minutes
Participants also plan the first weeks back, review workload and create practical routines for childcare, commuting, feeding, sleep and changing schedules. They identify where flexibility or additional workplace support may be useful.
- Module 1: Prepare for the Return
- Module 2: Navigate the First Weeks Back
- Live Q&A
Covers 2 of 4 parts: Prepare for the Return and Navigate the First Weeks Back.
3 hours
Covers 3 of 4 parts: Prepare for the Return, Navigate the First Weeks Back and Rebuild Confidence and Professional Identity.
Full day
The full-day session adds confidence, professional identity, workplace communication, boundaries and longer-term career continuity. Participants leave with a complete return-to-work plan covering preparation, re-entry, review and adjustment.
- Module 1: Prepare for the Return
- Module 2: Navigate the First Weeks Back
- Module 3: Rebuild Confidence and Professional Identity
- Module 4: Communicate Support Needs and Sustain the Return
- Live Q&A
Covers all 4 parts.
What’s covered
Prepare for the Return
Every length- Assess your current starting pointParticipants reflect on physical recovery, sleep, emotional wellbeing, childcare arrangements, feeding needs and confidence about returning.
- Review what has changed at workParticipants prepare to learn about changes in colleagues, responsibilities, systems, priorities, policies and organizational structure during their absence.
- Clarify your role and initial prioritiesParticipants identify which responsibilities resume immediately, which require a handover and which may need to be phased back in.
- Plan the practical transitionParticipants map childcare, commuting, equipment, clothing, meals, feeding, emergency contacts and the timing of the working day.
Navigate the First Weeks Back
90 minutes and longer- Create a manageable re-entry planParticipants plan how duties, meetings, systems and relationships can be reintroduced over the first few weeks.
- Manage energy, sleep and recoveryParticipants explore how disrupted sleep, postnatal recovery and changing family routines may affect concentration, stamina and emotional capacity.
- Plan feeding and physical needsParticipants consider privacy, storage, breaks, clothing, hydration and suitable facilities where breastfeeding or expressing is relevant.
- Prepare for disruptionParticipants create a plan for childcare illness, unexpected appointments, difficult mornings and days when sleep or recovery affects capacity.
Rebuild Confidence and Professional Identity
3 hours and longer- Expect confidence to return graduallyParticipants explore why time away, workplace change and the demands of early parenthood may temporarily affect confidence.
- Reconnect with skills and experienceParticipants identify the knowledge, judgment, relationships and achievements they bring back to work.
- Prepare for visible or demanding workParticipants create practical preparation systems for presentations, leadership meetings, complex decisions or client work.
- Navigate changes in identity and prioritiesParticipants consider how parenthood may have changed their values, ambitions, boundaries or relationship with work.
Communicate Support Needs and Sustain the Return
Full day only- Prepare a return-to-work conversationParticipants organize the practical issues they want to discuss, including workload, hours, travel, feeding, flexibility, recovery and review dates.
- Explore flexible working optionsParticipants consider changes to hours, location, start and finish times, travel or work patterns where these would make the return more sustainable.
- Agree how support will be reviewedParticipants identify what will be reviewed after the first few weeks and which signs may indicate that the plan needs to change.
- Protect longer-term career continuityParticipants consider development opportunities, promotion, training, visible assignments and future career conversations.
How booking works
- Book online. Create a free Workbliss profile, then pay with session credits, by card or by invoice.
- Pick a date. Choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or book now and set the date later.
- Choose your expert. Within 3 working days, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date.
- We deliver it. Your expert is briefed on your people and goals, then runs the session live online or at your site.
Questions about Returning to Work After Maternity Leave
How long is Returning to Work After Maternity Leave?
Returning to Work After Maternity Leave runs as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 3 hours or full day. You choose the length when you book. A 30-minute session covers three key points from Prepare for the Return: assess your current starting point, review what has changed at work and clarify your role and initial priorities. A 60-minute session covers Prepare for the Return in full, with a live Q&A. A 90-minute session adds Navigate the First Weeks Back. A 3-hour session adds Rebuild Confidence and Professional Identity. A full-day session adds Communicate Support Needs and Sustain the Return.
Can Returning to Work After Maternity Leave be delivered online or in person?
Yes, both. It runs live online, so every office can join at the same time, or in person at your site, in any country.
How do we book Returning to Work After Maternity Leave?
Create a free Workbliss profile with your work email, then open Returning to Work After Maternity Leave to see the price for each length and book it. You can pay with session credits, by card or by invoice, and choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or set it later.
Who leads the session?
A vetted Workbliss expert, briefed on your people, culture and goals before the session. After you book, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date within 3 working days, so you can choose who leads it.
Can it be tailored to our company?
Yes. Every session is shaped around your goals, your people and the benefits you already offer, and delivered by experts in your people’s languages.