After a few months as a lady of leisure, I finally returned to work on Monday starting a 4 month contract with Dick Smith. Initially I was dreading going back to work, the thought of being stuck in an office all day, staring at a computer and attending countless meetings. The routine of corporate life was no longer very appealing.
Believe it or not, I have really enjoyed it! Working with nice people and having a gritty project and new team certainly helps. Plus it's close to home, good money and has some really interesting challenges for me to tackle! However there was one major hurdle I had to overcome, and it wasn't the fact my corporate wardrobe no longer fits me, the extreme exhaustion or that it took 3 days for my laptop to arrive, it was leaving our puppy Chewy at home all day by himself.
I suffered separation anxiety like I have never experienced before. All day Sunday I kept asking Brett if it was safe to leave him outside on his own, "is 23c going to be too hot for him?" On Monday morning I felt a stab in my heart as I cuddled him and left him with a bone in the backyard. Brushing dog hair off my dress I dragged my heels as I walked out the door. I sent a couple of sms to Brett, looking for reassurance our pup would be ok. In the end Brett actually came home early, probably more for my sake than for Chewy!
It really got me thinking about all the Mums who juggle work and children, and the guilt they feel at leaving their kids. If I am this bad with our dog how will I be when I return to work a year or so after our baby is born? Gosh...not sure I am ready to deal with that just yet!
Leaving your kids can be a good thing. If a mother is ready to return to work and can't, this can feel extremley isolating and it creates anxiety about opportunities missed. This can work the other way too though, so the bottom line is don't come back unless you are ready. A couple of tips on how you know this;
ReplyDelete* You can't plan for this prior to having a baby you have to see how things go after the birth and how the family adjusts. Be patient with this decision.
* 12 months is a long enough period of time to know what you want to do. If you don't know by then... I think you have found your answer.
* Coming back too early can turn you off working permanenlty. So try and get to a bored stage before you decide.
* Come back part time to start with and implement plan with your boss on when you will step this up.
Great advice Em, your experience can teach us first timers a lot!!
ReplyDeleteWe are hoping to have saved enough for me to have 12 months off, then that way we can make the decision during that time. Rather than return to work unwillingly due to financial obligations!