When you go on maternity leave, you enter a period where you’re immersed in transformation. Your new baby is learning how to breathe outside the womb, connecting with you emotionally, while relying on you for basic survival needs. Meanwhile, back at the office, work moves forward as your employer and colleagues anxiously await your return.
Consider this template a leadership opportunity. The best way to reassure your manager that you are dedicated to your employer’s success is by outlining your transition plan. The Mindful Return Maternity Leave Plan Template is your guide to communicating the specifics of your maternity leave plan with your entire team before your extended absence.
In this editable memo, you’ll be guided to document and discuss your maternity leave plans.
Work Progress and Coverage
What will you accomplish before you leave? Who will cover for you while you’re gone? Specifying this ahead of your leave shows your employer you care, and that you won’t leave the company hanging in your absence.
Planned Weeks of Leave
Don’t let your employer sit around anxiously wondering when you’ll return. By clarifying how long you anticipate needing to adjust after adding your new baby to your life, you’ll make maternity leave easier on everyone.
Accessibility During Leave
Boundaries are healthy – especially when you’re in such a demanding season of life as becoming a new mom. A maternity leave plan allows you to meet the expectation ahead of time for how accessible you’ll be during your leave. Avoid uncomfortable conversations while giving yourself the space you need and permission to disconnect.
Return to Work
What will your return from maternity leave look like? Will you need to ease into your workload again by starting out on reduced hours or a flexible schedule? Will you have extra demands, such as a private area where you can pump while you’re at work? Set these up ahead of time so that everyone’s clear on what to expect when you return to work.
By nature, maternity leave is grueling, but planning for it shouldn’t be. Having a maternity leave plan is one way to give yourself more freedom while easing your employer’s concerns. This template from Mindful Return makes it easy to prepare, plan, and protect your time with your family.
Using this written plan worked to ease both my own anxieties and those of my employer. For me, it gave me a chance to proactively plan my work projects around my leave. Planning ahead gave me the peace of mind that I’d adequately prepared for being out of the office for an extended period of time and wouldn’t feel like I’d left my colleagues in a lurch.
For my employer, it spelled out my commitment to my work and gave them actionable information on how to manage my workload in my absence. The plan also gave both parties a set of expectations for the other, and left us with a complete understanding of how each would approach this major change in my life. This isn’t just something a Type-A worker needs – this is something every parent who takes extended time away from the office to care for their child needs to do with their employer to say “you’ve got this!”
– Jewelyn Cosgrove