If you care about your career, read this before going on maternity leave!

Knowing these things about your employer might make you more prepared and less stressed.

If you enjoy this article please leave claps, a comment or simply buy my daughter bubble wands, so I can continue providing value for mothers who want to stay home while earning an income.

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If you work for a corporation and are a woman considering getting pregnant and taking maternity leave, I need to warn you.

Not only have I experienced these but my friends and coworkers have too.

I live in the United States and maternity leave is always a topic of conversation, I’ll tell you why.

For this story, let’s take into consideration that,

Most mothers need more than six weeks to recover from childbirth, let alone if they have complications or experience postpartum depression.

AND

Most mothers need a paycheck to afford the huge expenses of welcoming a child.

If you live in the U.S. and didn’t know about this:

The U.S. does not have a federal law mandating paid maternity leave which means that your employer is not required to pay you on your leave.

Talking about capitalism, right?

The good news is that many states and employers offer their own maternity leave policies, which may include paid benefits so my first tip is to reach out to your state’s labor department or HR to find out the specifics in your case.

In 2022, I got 8 weeks of short-term disability paid via FMLA in Colorado and once I hit my 1st anniversary at the company, HR let me take 3 months of maternity leave, unpaid.

Now, if you think unpaid maternity leave is sad, I assure you this is just the tip of the iceberg.

What keeps me up at night is the aftermath of maternity leave on my career path.

For this, I’ll jump straight up into real-life examples:

My personal experience at an established corporation (PA):

Before my leave, I was due for a promotion, as I was asked to step up and assume managerial responsibilities to fill the gaps left by my manager departing for a better opportunity. I saw this as a chance to climb the ladder faster and secure a higher paycheck to cover hospital bills so I said yes, and worked my b*tt off for 8 months. It was a big mistake because I never received a promotion and was never even given a performance review.

My best friend’s experience at a well-known financial institution (NY):

Even though she exceeded expectations at the performance review, she was denied a promotion under the assumption that her output used to be higher before being pregnant. She is convinced that this is the result of her working remotely while she was sick in her 1st trimester.

It is sad to know that there are plenty more expecting and new mothers who are going through the same issues at this moment.

If you have a maternity leave coming up, this is what I’d suggest:

1. If you are due one, make sure to secure your promotion before going on maternity leave because 3+ months away is enough for your employer to forget about you.
2. Make sure to do a performance review before leaving, so you can hold your employer and yourself accountable when you return.
3. If you can get your manager to create a career ladder, so you can check that against your performance review when it’s time to negotiate your promotion at the end of your leave, that’d be amazing!
4. If you don’t have a performance review coming up, write down everything you’ve done and all you contributed to the company because when you get back, your brain won’t even remember what your job is.

These 4 tips will ensure that you are covered in case your manager changes while you are away too!

In a nutshell,

If you care about your career and want to ensure that your maternity leave doesn’t impact your trajectory, it’s essential to do your due diligence so you can claim what you’re entitled to!

This all makes me wonder why this is such a big issue in the U.S.:

• why aren’t mothers valued?
• why is child care so expensive?
• why do middle-class families have to pay for so much?

With the elections around the corner, do you think there’s any hope?

With love,

Olivia ❤️

If you got through the end of this article, I am deeply grateful to you.

If you enjoyed this article please leave claps, comment or subscribe to my free email list, so I know what you enjoy reading the best.

You can also buy my daughter bubble wands, to support my goals of staying home to raise my children and advocating for women who want the same but believe it’s impossible.

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