Returning to work post-baby (Part 2): Why do I want to return to work?

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).

This is the second post in a three-part series discussing my desire to return to work (see post 1 and 3). I wrote about my employment history and the things we have in Australia that support women to return to work in my previous post. Let’s now talk about my specific reasons for wanting to return.

My reasons for returning to work

Writing that title felt a bit odd. Why must I need reasons to want to return to work? I am a highly educated and driven woman who deserves to be happy in both her private and professional lives. My happiness relies on balancing both family and work life, which has informed my decision to return to work part time. I will be away from Abby 3-days per week and she will be in formal day-care on these days. 44% of Australian women who have the income and make the choice to not rely on regular informal/family day-care when returning to work use formal day-care. Abby will be 4-months old when I go back to work, which makes me similar to the 74% of Australian women who returned to work once their child was at least 4-months old in 2017.

Image 1: This makes me think of that song by Beyonce...you know the one? "Who rule the world? Girls!" (credit: ShePicksUpPennies.com)

I will be returning to work earlier than I expected to (before my maternity leave runs out) because, to be honest, my workplace and environment (e.g. high quality childcare and available subsidies) make it easy to do so. It’s well established that the higher the mother’s educational attainment, the more days per week they will work once they return. It seems that both having several degrees, including a PhD, and a supportive environment increased the likelihood that I'd choose to return to work.

Apart from it being easy to return, I also have several other reasons to return to the 9 to 5:

Reason 1: I miss having intellectual conversation and challenges

Abby is starting to make some interesting noises, as if she’s trying to tell me something important or interesting. Although it’s great to have a chat, I’d like to understand what is being said sometimes.

Like many other women who want to return to work, I want to return because I need to use my brain in a way that’s beyond just tending to a baby. I have gone from working in a highly intellectually stimulating environment to singing nursery rhymes at the library. I’m not saying that singing nursery rhymes isn’t enjoyable, I love watching Abby being mesmerised by all that goes on at the library when we sing and read books, but my brain is a little bit more developed than hers and needs more. I am always ‘on’ as a mum; my brain doesn’t get a chance to shut off, even overnight, but it’s a different kind of stimulation that I need.

Reason 2: It’s important that I continue to maintain and progress my skills

I am concerned about forgetting and not progressing my research and clinical skills, deeming me useless at work. It’s already hard to maintain my skills in two professions, so taking extended leave will only make this harder. Based on the findings of this small study, I am not alone in feeling this way.

Image 2: Remembering stuff can be hard (credit: Facebook)

I enjoy learning new skills and getting better at what I do. I am also a strong believer in the saying ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it’ (Video 1) and I preach this to my patients all the time when encouraging them to exercise to keep their function and independence (especially older patients). So, naturally, I apply this saying to my life too. 

Video 1: So you don't 'lose it'? Maybe it's different for sex (credit: YouTube)

The desire to maintain my skills has seen me keep in touch with my employers and do some odd jobs while I have been on leave (because I want to, not because I have been expected to). Keeping in touch is too rare given the potential benefits; only 19% of Australian women and 12% of men reported keeping in touch with their employer while on parental leave in 2019 (Image 3).

Image 3: Findings from the National Working Families Report 2019 (credit: APLEN)

Reason 3: I want to progress my career

I owe it to myself to respect the effort I put in to obtaining a decade of higher education and use my qualifications as much as I can (and want). So, it’s important to me to not let my efforts go to waste by not returning to work. Furthermore, I think I’m pretty good at what I do and so I deserve the enjoyment I get from doing it.

Image 4: It's time to apply my skills again (credit: SayingImages.com)

Your career can’t progress if you’re not working and you can’t always ‘pick up where you left off’ if you take years off to raise a family. Mothers fear that their employer will forget about them if they stay away too long, creating job security concerns. There’s some truth to this, as industries can move on, leaving people behind.

Approximately 23% of Australian mothers and 13% of fathers have reported receiving negative comments from their employer about their decision to take paid parental leave (Image 3). The careers of women who stay at home for more than two years can be “detrimentally restricted” as a result, possibly due to employers perceiving time away from the workplace as a career gap instead of an opportunity for a different type of growth and development for the employee. Women who become mothers can be perceived as less competent and educated than their childless female colleagues by employers. Unfortunately, this can see mothers being less likely than their colleagues to be promoted to senior roles, and this is amplified by the number of children they have and the amount of time they are away on leave. So, taking parental leave and staying away from work for an extended period might negatively impact the career progression of some people. It’s concerning that this potential discrimination continues to exist. These issues only make me want to return to work sooner and make me feel grateful that I am in the situation to be able to do so.

Upon returning to work after parental leave, it is more common for women than men to resume a role that is slightly or significantly different to the role they left (Image 3), which might change their career direction and encourage them to seek employment elsewhere. In a small study, 66% of women who had been out of the workforce for an average of 9-years returned to either a different position or changed their career path completely upon returning to work. Role changes are sometimes necessary because workplaces are dynamic environments, where roles change in response to many factors such as a changing client base and new technologies. Ideally, I’d like to return to work and almost pick up where I left off so I can progress my career as I currently know it. Furthermore, I want to be around to access opportunities to get involved in exciting projects that will contribute to future promotion opportunities, something one in three Australian mothers report missing out on due to taking parental leave (Image 3).  

Reason 4: I like making my own money

Financial reasons were the most common reasons Australian parents gave when deciding to return to work in 2019 (Image 3). Relative income often determines which parent returns to work and which parent stays home, if any parent does decide to stay home. Unfortunately, due to the gender pay gap and ‘motherhood penalty’, this often means the mother stays home and the father works. I’d like to return to work so that I can continue my contribution to the family income and continue to pay off my education debts, not necessarily because we won’t be able to feed ourselves if I stay home.

What are your reasons to return to work, or not?

I have provided four reasons to return to work, but I'm certain that there are several more reasons that others will have. I hope my post has helped you to think about why you might or might not want to return to work after having a baby, whether that baby is your first or fifth! Feel free to share your reasons in the comments below.

I will discuss my fears about returning to work in my next post, which is the third and final post for this series. Happy reading!