It’s ok to want to go back to work
Posted on November 10, 2022 by Kristen Lanham-Hostetter, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.
You love your job. Or maybe it's just easier than parenting. Whatever the reason, you want to go back to work. And that's OK!
Maybe you really like your job. Maybe you have plans and aspirations for what you’ll achieve at work. Maybe maternity leave/family leave/parental leave was a little (or a lot) harder than you thought. Whatever the reason, you’re not being dragged back kicking and screaming. You want to go back to work. And I’m here to tell you: that is OK!
I remember my first day back so clearly. My caring, well-meaning colleagues asked me one after another how hard it was to be separated from my daughter. While only one person told me outright that babies belonged with their parents, not in a daycare (wow), the subtext was clear: if I was a good parent, I must be torn up inside about spending my time at work instead of with my daughter.
But I wasn’t.
Because work was so much easier than maternity leave was. That’s a story for another day though.
Sure, I was pumping 3x a day at work initially, fighting to stay awake in meetings after months of no sleep, and trying to find my bearings in a relatively new management position, but it was still easier. Life at work was predictable and schedulable, my colleagues told me with words what they needed, and no one screamed at me when they were hungry.
While most parents need to work to make a living, we are expected to feel at least a little guilty about it. Especially mothers. But why should we feel guilty for using our talents and abilities to provide for our families? If you are lucky enough to like your work and want to go back, take a deep breath and think of this when that little voice, or that stranger on the street, tries to make you feel guilty:
-I am being a role model for my child
-I am providing my child with valuable experiences by being in someone else’s care while I’m at work
-I am still allowed to continue to seek challenge and fulfillment in the workplace after having a child
-Haters gonna hate (highly recommended, play your favorite song with these lyrics)
And you know what? My daughter LOVED daycare. And so did I. Her daycare provider took care of hundreds of kids before my daughter and was a wealth of knowledge. They got my daughter on a regular nap schedule! A nap schedule that is still paying dividends in our lives today! And my daughter made friends who, 4 years later, are still some of her favorite people in the world.
None of that would have happened without the return to work and the end of maternity leave.
What excites you about returning to work?
