Читать книгу The Parental Leave Playbook - Sue Campbell - Страница 12

Most people think of parental leave as the time you are absent from work to bond with your new child. I want to encourage you to think more holistically than that. I have come to see parental leave as a transition period that is best broken into three phases: (1) preparing for leave, (2) during leave, and (3) returning from leave—whether you have an official paid parental leave or not. I will coach you on how to approach this transition from a position of thoughtfulness instead of being forced into reaction mode. If you let our culture steer your leave, you will likely have many difficult experiences (and that's me putting it nicely). This playbook walks you through the critical moments for each phase so you can lead your own leave and have a successful transition—however you define success.

In Phase 1, especially if this is your first child, you are naturally still very much work identified. Now is the time to take practical steps to prepare to be away from work to welcome your child. We will focus on your announcement and on identifying the supports you can draw on to overcome any bumps in the road. Then we will dig into action planning for your leave and find ways to soak in and celebrate as you put work on hold so you can embrace parenthood.

In Phase 2, you are on leave to welcome your child! Here you will focus on diving deep into being a new parent and the role expansion that requires. You will spend time bonding with your new child and family. This is a momentous time. You should have clear boundaries with work and as much support as possible from your friends, family, and community. I will help you to develop a communication plan with work (how/when to be in touch), prepare to advocate for yourself and your child with your support system and health care team, and when it is time, think about what arrangements you will put in place as your leave ends and you return to work.

In Phase 3, you will focus on returning to work and adjusting to your new normal as a working parent. For many, this is the trickiest part of parental leave, bringing up new and unexpected role conflicts. Echoing the preparations you made as you moved into leave, I will walk you through ways to acknowledge this big transition and adjust to your new roles. We will also work on ensuring you have access to ongoing career development opportunities so you can continue to build your career in the ways you want to.

We will wrap up the playbook by naming some of the additional human experiences and circumstances that can make the transition more challenging, such as perinatal mood disorders, single parenthood, and the way oppression and bias compound the difficulties for marginalized and underrepresented individuals, especially those in Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and other communities of color, as well as for LGBTQ+ parents. We will also look at how to carve out a better future as a working parent and help others do the same by your example.

Appendix 2 will link you to concrete tools and resources to plan and manage your leave, including a leave plan template, checklists, reflection prompts, a perinatal mental health screening tool, books I recommend, and more to help round out your understanding and preparedness.

I am so excited to put this book into your hands. You deserve to enjoy both your family and your career. With the right tools and support, you can do just that. This playbook, based on extensive research and experience with hundreds of parents and managers in organizations around the world, will help you see what's coming so you can navigate this major life and career transition competently and confidently—while having fun along the way!