If you're about to go back to work after maternity leave, or you're already back and wondering why it feels so much harder than expected, this episode is for you.

The truth is, no one really prepares you for the emotional reality of the return. The guilt. The overwhelm. The strange feeling of being expected to show up as the same person you were before, when you are fundamentally, beautifully different.

In this episode, I'm walking you through what the first 90 days of returning to work after parental leave actually looks like - the messy, the hard, and what genuinely helps.

Episode resources and links

Follow Working Mumma on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or LinkedIn

Podcast ep https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/lighten-your-mental-load-ditch-the-mum-guilt-and/id1495282250?i=1000719634108

You came back from parental leave a different person - more resilient, more decisive, less tolerant of nonsense, and more capable. The question isn't whether you can do your role. It's whether you will give yourself permission to show up as the upgraded version of yourself.

This week on the Working Mumma Podcast, I chat with Rebecca Houghton, founder of Bold HR and author of More Impact, More Easily — a book that started as a guide for middle managers and turned out to be essential reading for every working mum navigating her way back after maternity leave.

Rebecca has over 20 years of experience in leadership, talent, and organisational transformation.

In this episode, we go deep on what the return to work really involves, and why most women are doing it harder than they need to.

In this episode we cover:

• Why returning to work after having a baby is actually one of the most powerful career resets you'll ever have, and how to use it consciously
• The two-part reset every working mum needs: one for your home system, one for your professional identity
• Why nobody does two jobs well and what has to change before you go back (hint: it's not just you)
• The worthiness vs capability confidence model and why your inner critic goes into overdrive when you return
• The difference between input and impact and why your boss is measuring you by a completely different currency than you think
• Why the "let it go" mindset shift is the single most important tool for working mums in their first year back
• How to have a conversation with your inner voice (yes, really) and why Rebecca named hers Desdemona

Episode resources and links

Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn and check out her book "More Impact, More Easily" on boldhr.com

Follow Working Mumma on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or LinkedIn

What happens when the job you thought you were returning to after parental leave no longer exists?

In this episode, I speak with executive leader and solo mum Karis Dorrigan, who shares her experience of being made redundant while on maternity leave during COVID, and how that moment became a turning point in redefining her career, ambition, and life.

This is an honest and powerful conversation about the realities many women face but rarely talk about - redundancies whilst on parental leave, job insecurity, lack of support from employer, navigating the return to work, and the pressure to “be grateful” just to have a job.

It’s also a story of rebuilding, advocating for what you need, and designing a career that actually works for you as a mum and senior leader in an organisation.

If you’re returning to work after parental leave, or questioning what you want your career to look like after having children, this episode will leave you feeling seen, validated and empowered.

We chat about:

• Karis's career journey from Qantas to executive leadership, and how becoming a mum changed everything
• Being made redundant on parental leave during COVID, and what employers should do differently
• How getting clear on your values becomes your compass for every big career and life decision
• The systems and structures still holding working mums back (and the small changes that would make a real difference)
• Why Karis works four days a week, rarely goes into the office, and has a no-meeting Tuesday and how she made that happen
• The truth about solo parenting in Australia: 1 in 5 households, high rates of poverty, and why policy needs to catch up
• Why you should stop being grateful for flexibility and start advocating boldly for what you need
• Her call to action for every leader: would a single mum apply for this role? If not, rewrite it.

Episode links

Connect with Karis on LinkedIn

Follow Working Mumma on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or LinkedIn