A recent MMB survey found that more than a third of mothers returning to work felt unsupported and isolated after maternity leave. I’m fortunate enough to fall outside of that statistic, due to Telefónica Tech’s family-friendly policies. As a mum to my two young children, my family will always be the main priority in my life. Telefónica Tech’s enhanced maternity leave and phased return to work benefits have enabled me to simultaneously care for my young family while maintaining a successful career as Telefónica Tech’s Head of Insurance.

Where it all began

I began my journey in 2016. Shortly after, I quickly progressed to more senior positions before stepping up as Head of Insurance in 2020. During this six-year period, I have taken two spells of maternity leave, becoming a mum to my two children—Hunter, who is 4 years old, and Georgia, 11 months old. Having only recently returned to Telefónica Tech as a working parent for the second time, I have set myself much more realistic expectations for settling back into my role this time around compared to returning to work after having my first child.

Returning to work: expectations versus reality

I’ll be the first to admit that I had set myself extremely high expectations for my transition back to work following my first pregnancy. I soon realized that these were not realistic, and that’s okay! Telefónica Tech has been very accommodating and understanding when my initial expectations didn’t always match up to the reality of returning to work while now caring for my young family.

Here are my top expectations versus reality for returning to work after maternity leave:

Expectation: I would be back to work 6 months after giving birth.
Reality: I came back after 10-12 months. Telefónica Tech understood that raising two young children is no easy feat, and I had to do what worked best for my family and me.

Expectation: I would return to the office full-time, five days a week.
Reality: I’m returning to work on a phased return, working hybrid—from home and office—4 days a week.

Expectation: My ‘keeping in touch’ (KIT) days would be spent doing additional training and exam certifications.
Reality: These days were spent meeting new members of the team and receiving organizational updates to keep me in the loop. There was absolutely no pressure put on learning and development training while I was on maternity leave—Incremental encouraged me to focus on my family.

Expectation: I would resume countrywide travel to visit customer sites.
Reality: I requested notice for all travel; as I now have two young children, I plan my schedule around them. Telefónica Tech has been nothing but accommodating of my conditions for work trips.

Expectation: My working arrangements will remain as they were pre-pregnancy, with no flexibility required.
Reality: Flexible working arrangements were needed almost immediately. Thankfully, support from Telefónica Tech was in abundance, and any flexibility that I required was never questioned.

A seamless transition

As I now transition back into my role after my second spell of maternity leave, I feel confident and relaxed knowing that work/life balance is valued at Telefónica Tech. I do not feel guilty about having a life outside of work, and the worry that I would be treated differently upon returning from maternity leave never came to fruition in my current role. Telefónica Tech’s commitment to workplace wellbeing, as demonstrated by the recent mental health training course carried out by 15 of my colleagues, means that any concerns I, or anyone else, may have about balancing family life and a career would be dealt with sensitively and without judgment—setting Telefónica Tech apart from the rest.