The value of maternity leave returners in the workforce

Here, Clarico explores the value of maternity leave returners in the workforce: why it's worth investing in and protecting this cohort, and the benefits doing so brings to both individuals and organisations.

Maternity leave is a precious time. It is by no means a holiday or “time off”. What we regularly hear from mothers returning to work is that they have never worked harder than on their maternity leave. Maternity returners are a remarkable and capable cohort of employees. It is in both employers' and employees' interest for employers to put the right supports in place, so returners can come back effectively. Below, we set out why this cohort is so valuable, why employers should support their returners, and how they can do it.

Highly skilled and committed

Maternity leave returners are highly capable. They have gone through a profound physical, mental and emotional shift and have been biologically altered. The book Matrescence by Lucy Jones delves into this phenomenon. The book discusses how matrescence is a developmental phase comparable to adolescence, affecting the mind, brain, and body. As well as these biological changes, a number of invaluable professional competencies are also developed. Women become highly intuitive, skilled at managing time and quick to pre-empt and solve problems. Raising their children makes them adept at navigating competing demands and, often by default, effective multi-taskers.

Returners also exemplify a different level of dedication. Someone who has chosen to come back, often navigating childcare logistics, cost, and guilt in the process, isn't doing it half-heartedly. Assuming a returner is anything other than committed is a dangerous move for an organisation to make.

Resilient in times of change

Maternity leave is a period of profound change. A child’s first year is one of constant flux, no sooner has a routine settled than it shifts again. Returners come back to the workforce with a proven ability to take change in their stride: they know how to adapt and keep moving forward.

Returners also acquire a broader perspective while on leave, which tends to make them better at reading situations, managing people, and knowing when to push and when to hold back.

An invaluable perspective

Parents, and mothers in particular, are often the ones making a household's spending decisions, from groceries and insurance to big-ticket purchases. For organisations trying to understand their customers, market or products from a family's point of view, returners offer built-in commercial insight into that crucial segment.

Addressing the gender pay gap

Ireland's gender pay gap is still shaped heavily by career breaks and the penalty women face for taking them. Organisations that genuinely support returners, rather than quietly sidelining them, are doing something concrete to address that gap, something all organisations should be striving to do, not just reporting on it once a year.

Networks and culture, ready-made

Many returners spend a year somewhat isolated from their ‘old lives’. But that time also opens up a whole new network of fellow parents, through antenatal groups, other parents at the school gate or creche, or online communities built during leave. These are real networks, often full of people an organisation would never otherwise reach, and they can be hugely valuable to both the individual and their employer, whether through word of mouth, referrals, or simply a wider pool of perspectives feeding into the business.

Shape a Supportive Culture

Returners also tend to reshape culture in useful ways. Someone returning from leave often has a clear-eyed view of what worked and what didn't before they left, and enough distance from it to suggest changes that people still immersed in the day-to-day might not think to raise. A team with returners in it also tends to talk more openly about boundaries, flexibility and what sustainable work actually looks like, which benefits everyone, not just parents.

The business case, not just the compassionate one

It's easy to frame support for returners as a nice-to-have. At Clarico, we maintain that supporting returners is a necessity. Organisations that get return-to-work right retain experienced, valuable people. They build genuinely representative leadership pipelines and reap the commercial and cultural benefits outlined above. Businesses that treat maternity leave as a gap to be managed, rather than an asset to be recognised, are taking a blinkered view and expose themselves to real commercial and cultural loss.

If you're an employer thinking about how to genuinely support returners, rather than just process them, our Employers Coaching offering and Corporate Workshops are designed to do just that. If you're an individual coming back from leave and want a clearer plan for the transition, our Return to Work Coaching sessions can help you return to work with confidence and clarity.