Hannah Moore, CFP®’s Post

We Love our Mothers, and we want them Successful!! Is it time to revisit maternity leave and #returnship? While we can discuss what is the best period for maternity leave, and even discuss that both mothers and fathers should be entitled of the same period of parental leave, I feel what we haven't thought thoroughly yet is returnship, what happens while and after parental leave? After months of complete absence, it becomes very difficult to return and re-engage with what has progressed at work; if returning from two weeks of holidays is hard, imagine returning from months of being a new parent. This puts parents in a challenging position of having to catch-up quickly and move quicker than the peers, or being left behind, and hence, miss opportunities on new projects, promotion, and so on. We still put more pressure on mothers to "take care of the children" and penalize fathers for "running away from work". This leads to more mothers opting to leave the workforce, and less fathers spending quality time with their children. In addition, mothers also need to pump at work, in times and spaces that may not have been provided, and even being labeled as "unproductive" when needing to do so. So...while we all love our mothers and fathers, I think we can do a better job into re-thinking this whole parental leave and specially what will happen after they return. Do parents need to step away completely? Or can we give them the choice to have parent-mode workstyle, where the parents can partially engage before returning completely to work. I am not a parent, but I think it's important we hear their needs and accommodate to what kind of workstyle they want when having children, and avoid trying one-fit-all rules. Let's celebrate mother's day and father's day with real commitments to their career success, and not only with nice words and cards that, makes you feel good, but don't solve any problems. Happy Mother's Day!! #WeLoveYouMothersEverywhere #DramaQueen #FabulousMoms #SuccessfulMothers

I love this - How many companies do listen to their employees and make changes to suit them? The way UW sees their employees, partners and customers as part of a big family is so very true. There is opportunities to be have, if you want it. If like me, seeing smiles on people's face makes you happy - Then this opportunity may be for you 😍 Do you need an avenue to help pay off your mortgage, your credit card, any debts? Do you want flexible work due to family commitments? but most importantly, like me, UW is really keen on personal development and you have no idea what you are really, really capable of, until you make that decision to be the best version of yourself. Get in touch and find out all the good thing about this business 😇 #helpinghand #helpingothers #workingtogether #paternityleave

It's official--I'm stepping back into the professional world after maternity leave, and wow, holy cr@p, this is hard. I am so incredibly grateful for the time I had to bond with our new (and first) baby. Becoming a parent has changed me in ways I wasn't expecting and frankly, it's made me look at work a little differently. Before I left on leave, I had a thorough leave-plan set, I had read about how to make the transition easier, and felt "ready" for this new chapter. Now that I'm back? I can't help but feel like twelve weeks (or even sixteen for some companies) isn't enough. We recover, we start to bond, and then, we come back. It's as if nothing has changed but yet everything has. It's an emotional mix of exhaustion, guilt, gratitude, and the steepest learning curve. This experience has deepened my understanding of the need for better parental leave policies across the United States. We need so much MORE than time to recover--we need time to adjust, reintegrate, and find our footing as new parents. In this journey back, I see the work Bobbie, PARENTLY, Moms at Work, Moms First, and so many more are doing to help advocate for all working parents, and I thank them. And as I "dive right back in," I'm carrying this experience with me. To all the parents out there who are balancing, almost balancing, or barely balancing, I see you. Let's keep pushing for the support we deserve. #MaternityLeave #ParentalLeave #WorkingParents #FMLAReform #CareerandFamily

Today is my first day back at work after my second round of paternity leave. I'm spending the next couple of days easing in and catching up after an invaluable six weeks making memories with my wife and our sons. I'm fortunate to have had this time, knowing that many parents still only receive the statutory two weeks of leave. I'm also incredibly well supported with flexibility and understanding from my leaders. I believe six weeks should be the absolute baseline for paternity leave, given the crucial recovery, bonding, and adjustment period after birth. And if organisations are serious about making a real difference, extending parental leave even further should be something to seriously look at. Much of the research I've read shows that extending parental leave has so many benefits. When all parents can take substantial leave it strengthens the bond between them and their children, creates a more balanced sharing of caregiving responsibilities, and offers significant emotional and practical support to all parents. Over time this can help shift societal norms - redistributing caregiving responsibilities more evenly and helping to reduce the career impact traditionally faced by women. Right, off my soapbox and back to the emails and Slack messages... #ParentalLeave #Parenting #WorkLifeBalance #InclusiveWorkplace #SupportParents

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞… 😢 Today is officially the last day on my paternity leave. As of Monday, I'll be back to work full-time after my paternity leave. I’m not to afraid to say I feel quite sad about it. 😔 These past two weeks or so have been amazing but intense, supporting the woman I love through the trauma of childbirth and now preparing to leave her at home, whilst she is still recovering to go back to work is worrying. The pressure and expectations are high, and as a dad of now three beautiful amazing children, I feel like this part of the journey isn't talked about enough. Mothers are rightly celebrated for their superhuman strength and what they put their bodies through is incredible. But as dads we also face our own set of unique challenges. On Monday, I'll be leaving the house, knowing my wife will have to handle the school run with our children and baby, while still recovering. She only gave birth two week ago!! Obviously I will still be support with night feeds otherwise you are asking for your wife to completely burnout, yet I’ll need to perform a full day’s work on broken sleep. Add to that the guilt and anxiety of not being there to help when things get tough during the day weighs heavily on me. 😟 This is my third child, and I’m more nervous and anxious than I was with my others. All of the above comes into play before you even consider the financial strain of reduced pay for the second week of paternity leave adds another layer of pressure. I’m sharing my feelings in the hope that it sparks a conversation. If this post helps even one other dad feel less alone, then it's worth it. I will revisit this, this time next week and over the course of the week document my feelings on the first week back. We're all in this together. 💪 #PaternityLeave #WorkingDad #ParentingJourney #MentalHealth #Support

To all my maternity returners over the next few months. It might not always feel easy. You might be wondering: - “How will I juggle work and childcare?" - “willI still be able to advance my career?" - "What will my colleagues think if I leave on time?" - "Do I still have the confidence to succeed?" - "Can I even do this job anymore?" - "What's happening with my maternity cover?" All of which are normal, but can weigh heavily, making the transition back to work feel overwhelming. I get it. Imposter syndrome was my biggest hurdle—it snuck in and stuck around longer than I expected! I looked for support and struggled to find it, so I created it through coaching to support other incredible women returning from parental leave. Here’s what I’d share: - Don’t ignore these feelings - Have open conversations with your leader well in advance. - Share how you’re feeling with others—it can shrink those concerns. - Create a return-to-work plan (yes, it’s a thing!), so you feel prepared and in control.

Fathers and mothers have remarkably similar employee experiences before parental leave with ONE big exception: Fathers have very few people to talk to about what an extended paid leave as a father is like. Because there just aren't that many fathers who have had access to longer paid leave, and who have taken many months away from work. So these fathers wonder:  👍🏽 Is it OK for me to use my full leave?  📆 Should I split my leave or take it all at once?  🧑🍼 What should I actually do while I’m on leave? 💻 Do I work a tiny bit while on leave, or fully disconnect? These are questions that (by and large) mothers do NOT ask. This is just one of the reasons we have such a high utilization of our career coaching program from fathers. Because they are hungry for advice, support and examples of how they can best leverage parental leave as a non-birth parent. **************************************************** I'm Allison Whalen, founder of Parentaly, sharing stories & tips daily. We work with companies and HR leaders to turn parental leave into a win-win. Follow me + hit 🔔 to stay tuned.

How prepared do you feel for your upcoming maternity or parental leave? Are you: a) Pretty prepared, but it still feels quite overwhelming to keep on top of work up until your leave date b) Quite prepared prior to going, but not sure of what you can do now to prepare for a smooth return c) Not as prepared as you feel you should be - you’re not sure what you should be prioritising at work d) Not prepared at all!! If you are any of these - then come along to our super practical lunch & learn session on Friday at 12.30pm. In the session Laura Trendall, GameChanger and I will show you: ➡ How to prioritise your work and manage everyone’s expectations (whilst also trying to plan everything for when your mat leave actually starts!) ➡ How to navigate conversations with your line manager ahead of your leave ➡ What you can do now to put things in place for a smooth return to work Sound good? Book a place 5 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL PARENTAL LEAVE on Friday 12th July at 12.30pm. In the session Laura and I will answer all of this and more, and you will come away with a set of actions and plans you can make your own and feel super confident as you prepare for your leave. Book your FREE place through the link in the comments

Stories from mortherhood When I prepared for maternity leave, all my colleagues asked me what I was going to do with all the free time "on leave" and how I was going to spend it. Well, free time became, sleepless nights (that's why I am wearing sunglasses in this picture 😄) and I was upgraded to backseat Queen 🐝👑) But, I still use the night to write and schedule my social media posts. Usually, when I cannot sleep. It is not easy, but it is easier when my baby smiles at me or when those tiny feet are trying to walk and brings me so much joy! Maternity leave is not a vacation, but it is the hardest challenge both physically and mentally for a woman, yet so beautiful and filled with joy. Let's normalize parental leave and create workplaces that support families! Everyone benefits from a better work-life balance! Being able to stay at home when your kid has a flu, or just having an flexible work schedule to pick them up from kindergarten should be part of the new normal. Thinking a lot about the benefits of parental leave lately 🤔. It's so important for families to bond with their little one 💕. Adjusting to parenthood is a HUGE life change! Having that dedicated time can make all the difference. What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments! 👇 BONUS: find the tiny foot in the picture 🐧 #parentalrights #familyfirst #WorkLifeBalance #ParentalLeave #SupportWorkingParents