Returning to work part-time

My boss has offered me the option of working mornings only instead of a full day after the baby is born. I really like the idea but am afraid I will end up trying to be a full-time employee and a full-time mother, and that it will be a disaster. Am I being negative?

Since you have a realistic concern, it is not being negative. And if you don’t address your concern now before you go back to work, it will cause you stress in the back of your mind. So congratulate yourself on knowing the drawbacks of a situation, and think of ways to address it.

A good place to start would be to ask your boss for a meeting and explain your concerns. Since he has made this offer, he would seem to be a caring boss who values your input. Ask him if the two of you can work out a careful plan for structuring your work. What happens if your workload gets too much for you to complete in a half day? Perhaps you could ask for a meeting every two months in order to have a way to discuss the concerns you have. You will need to be organised, keep good records of your time and any time issues, and be willing to communicate your problems openly in a non-confrontational way. Having set up these systems for yourself, you may find that you stop worrying and never even need to use them. However, the fact that they exist may take a load off your mind.

Similarly, your childcare support needs to be structured in a way that suits you. Think carefully about the things that your carer can do to make your life easier. If you are collecting your baby at lunchtime, would you prefer to fetch a baby who has just woken up fresh from a nap, so that you can spend quality time together, or would you prefer to take the baby home for the nap, so that you have time to collect yourself and get a few chores done before baby wakes up and needs your attention? These are the kinds of things that you can structure to ensure that your life runs smoothly.

A half day job is not an opportunity that should be lightly turned down. If you are careful about your planning you could have the best of both worlds. Your financial situation will be eased. You will keep your hand in with regard to your working environment, so that it is easier to slip back into full time work later when your child is older, should you want to do that. But you will still have time with your baby and be more involved in your baby’s life than if you went back to work. You are in a very fortunate position to have this option, and need to weigh up your options very carefully.