Helping new parents settle back into work after parental leave

在这篇文章中，FutureLearn的高级产品经理Tessa Cooper分享了她在产假后重返工作岗位的经验以及FutureLearn如何帮助她安顿下来。

去年成为Futurelearn的任何人休产假的第一年。实际上，我们办公室中的三个人在类似的时候怀孕了！自从我和FutureLearn开始学习如何最好地支持新父母以来，我是第一个重返工作岗位的人。

这是一些使我的回报顺利运行的事情：

适当的产妇覆盖

I was only on leave for 4 months so at one point me and my manager discussed the idea of not bothering with full-time cover and instead asking my team to cover me. This often happens with fathers who go on leave because it’s usually a shorter time. However, I would encourage all organisations to invest in proper cover for anyone that goes on more than a few weeks leave. It meant that I could focus purely on my new baby for those first few months without worrying about work. It also meant I came back to a team who had been well supported. I also benefited from two weeks handover with my cover too, it meant I was fully up to speed when it came to stepping back into my role.

定期保持联系日

Most maternity leave policies include up to 10 paid keeping in touch days which I’d encourage others to make use of。感谢FutureLearn在两周内工作冲刺很容易选择我应该进来的日子。在我休假的最后两个月中，我每隔一个星期四就会参加全面的会议。这次会议可以快速概述每个人的工作，因此这意味着我在正式返回之前在FutureLearn的情况下加快了速度。

选择哪一天进入并坚持下去也很重要。首先，因为我的伴侣在休产假期间正在从事自由职业者工作，所以协调谁需要照顾婴儿很重要。其次，因为它帮助我们进入了明确的例行程序。第三，因为它使我轻轻地回到工作中 - 我不仅能够习惯整天离开我的孩子，而且还有助于回到通勤的摇摆。我想，如果我没有做几次通勤，我会很大的压力和疲倦。

Expressing at work

Before I had my baby our HR lead mentioned to me that they would have to look at sorting me a room to express in. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about breastfeeding and this was the first I’d even considered the fact that I might have to express to avoid leaking all over my colleagues!

I could write a whole separate blog post on the trials of breastfeeding as a working mother, but the most important thing is that my employer and my colleagues have been willing to learn with me, and help me out whenever things didn’t quite go to plan. For instance, it was only when I first started expressing that we learnt that our meeting rooms full of windows weren’t ideal, but our office manager was soon able to sort me a space with frosted windows and a lock on the door.

I also realised that in a role where you’re often in and out of meetings all day it’s pretty hard to find time 2-3 times a day to express. Sometimes it’s necessary for me to ask my colleagues if I can express in meetings. Luckily I’m okay about doing this in front of people, and thankfully all of my colleagues have been very accepting and understanding. Some have even been hugely intrigued about the process and I’m more than happy to answer their questions. Unfortunately many breastfeeding mothers still experience intolerance or ignorance. I’m a firm believer the best way to tackle this is through education, so I would encourage anyone that is interested to ask questions about it to parents you might know. I’m sure they would be equally as happy as me to chat about their experiences.

The last thing I’d recommend if you are considering expressing at work is to make sure you keep a steriliser, a spare pump and spare bottles at work at all times. I had a few stressful moments at the start where I’d forget to bring all the gear in but thankfully my partner was able to drop by with the baby to avert any disasters!

Adjusting your working patterns

我和我的伴侣在怀孕期间同意，我们将分担照顾孩子的责任。我们决定，我将从5天的一周到4天的一周，而他将进行2天的自由职业和3天的托儿服务。我妈妈也每周有一天照顾我的女儿。此外，我稍微向前移动了几个小时，以便在上班之前可以喂我们的孩子，然后准时回家，然后在睡前之前喂她的饲料。我建议您了解潜在的工作模式并尽早与您的雇主解决，这可以帮助您安慰您对重返工作岗位的担忧。

Baby visits!

尽管我现在工作了一个短的一周，但我仍然在想念女儿而挣扎。为了帮助减轻我的伴侣，我同意每周有一天他会带她进来，以便我们都可以一起吃午餐。这意味着我有机会在工作日喂养她并改变她。值得庆幸的是，FutureLearn一直很乐于助人，我再次建议您建立例行程序 - 不仅可以调整，而且同事知道何时会在办公室里见到婴儿。

Being honest about how you are coping

When I first returned to work I felt like I had to ‘be strong’ and show that I was able to comfortably cope with juggling a career and being a parent. But in reality, no matter how much support your partner and your company give you, it is emotionally and physically draining. I have had many mornings where I have broken down in tears when leaving my daughter, and I have had many nights where I have felt so exhausted from the day at work that I feel like I’m unable to cope. However I recently shared how it was making me feel with my team in a回顾这立即使我感觉好多了，让他们从我的胸口脱身，让他们意识到我的挣扎方式。不要觉得您必须一直戴着勇敢的脸，没有人是超人！

Supporting others to balance work and childcare

现在我又回到工作了，我意识到工作场所还​​能做更多的工作来支持新父母。我认识到我能够与伴侣分享育儿，我很幸运，我想帮助其他可能与我相同的人。尽管FutureLearn一直在支持，并且比许多组织更具前瞻性，但在育儿假和育儿政策还足够的情况下，我们仍然有一些路要走。经过整个过程，我希望与公司中的其他人合作，不仅继续改善我们的现有政策，而且还引入新的政策和支持，这将使所有父母受益。

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