Articles From the Team

Maternity Leave – Does this mean career suicide?!

Whilst I am currently enjoying my pregnancy glow and embracing all the outward bodily changes taking place, part of me is worrying about how I’m going to cope being a new mum, how am I going to deal with broken sleep, cranky babies, feeding, changing and everything else that comes with motherhood! I’m sure this is no different for any new expectant mum.

One other concern that most working women will have is, what happens to my career whilst I’m away on maternity leave? This can be a worrying time for a woman that has dedicated their life to their career, as have I. Questions that have run through my mind; what will my employers say, what will this mean for my job whilst I’m away, will I still have a job to come back to, will there be any chance of promotion now that I’m about to step away from the office for 12 months and embark upon a completely different journey of motherhood?

Thankfully at BCL all of my concerns were immediately washed away when I spoke to my manager who reassured me that all will be done to look after my work whilst I’m away on maternity leave. To my surprise there was also further discussion of potential promotion for when I return to work and that this was something for us to work on in the meantime. We are in the process of recruiting someone to come and work alongside me with me acting as their mentor in the interim and they will look after my desk whilst I’m away. On my return the plan is for both of us to work together with a view to me training to becoming their manager. So who said maternity leave means career suicide?! In my case it’s quite the opposite.

I am very fortunate that I work for a grounded and progressive thinking company like BCL, where nothing is a hindrance to career progression if you work hard, show dedication and loyalty.

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