It is a pivotal moment that is too often unthought of, that of women returning to their workplace after maternity leave. While few studies exist on the subject, the Association for the Employment of Executives (APEC) is publishing this Thursday, February 8, the results of a survey conducted among 12,400 female executives in January-February 2023. Its result is without appeal: almost half of them reveal that returning to work after their pregnancy was ” difficult “.
There are several reasons for this. The most mentioned undoubtedly remains that of a mental load complicated to manage due to fatigue. But there are many women who also point out the challenges to be taken up to be as effective and committed as before. “This recovery is a crucial moment for women, they come out of their cocoon to get back into professional life”relates Thi Nhu An Pham, author on the subject of a podcast and the book Recovery. The taboo of the condition of women after maternity leave (Payot, 2023). “It’s a complicated transition that no one really realizes. We expect them to return as before without family constraints”she insists.
In the APEC survey, 71% of women surveyed consider that companies are insufficiently organized to support the return of their employees. They do not take the trouble to conduct a return interview (even though it is obligatory), nor to inform them about the changes that took place during maternity leave, nor to train them in new computer supports and software. “It is normal that women’s mental load is higher at this time. What is less clear is that companies are not adopting measures to help them reduce it”, notes Gilles Gateau, Director General of APEC.
To help them, young working mothers launched in December 2021 a charter of good practices called “ Parenting Challenge », which more and more groups are committing to respect, even if, to date, it still only concerns 34,275 employees.
“Guilt-inducing” behavior
If returning from maternity leave remains a crucial moment, it is far from being the only one: “We would no longer like to see a manager take his head in his hands every time an employee tells him that she is pregnant”continues Mr. Gateau, who notes that this type of behavior is “guilty” for these women.
Some also maintain contact with their company during their leave, to varying degrees, contrary to the legal obligation. “If I didn’t log in during my maternity leave, I was going to find myself returning with 1,800 emails! »says a young finance manager who prefers to remain anonymous.
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