What to Do When Your Work Priorities Shift After Having a Baby
Being a parent can be a life-changing experience. When a child enters your life, everything changes. Your schedule, your priorities, and, often, even your view of work. These changes can lead to a reassessment for many parents. What once seemed like the perfect job might not fit in with your new life rhythm. Maybe the demands of the job start to overwhelm you, and the tradeoffs between family and professional growth become more apparent.
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You’re not alone if you are a parent who is reading this. Around the world, parents and moms are faced with the same questions: how do I balance work with family needs? Should I continue in my current position or pursue a new path? How can I be flexible without losing my professional identity or image?
Kirsty Levine, an experienced careers counsellor at The Parents Village, helped us answer these questions. Kirsty Levin has helped countless parents navigate changing work priorities and find fulfilling careers that fit their family life. She offers some advice to parents who are reevaluating their careers after having a child.
1. Consider Your Work-Life Before Kids
Kirsty suggests that you reflect on your current work situation honestly before your baby arrives. This self-review is a great way to guide your next steps.
Do you remember how much you loved your job before having children? Was a change of career on your mind before you had children?
When you once enjoyed your job, but now the workload or hours are overwhelming, it is a sign that you need flexibility, not a total overhaul. Parents can negotiate part-time work, remote work, or adjusted responsibilities to better suit their family obligations.
If you felt disengaged and ready to quit your job even before the birth of your child, this could be a sign that a career change is the best choice. Parenthood can shed light on the things that matter, so this could be the time to consider new career paths that better align with your values and interests.
This step of reflection is vital. This step lays the foundation for making realistic choices that will be sustainable and in line with your family and career goals.
2. If You Love Your Job, You Should Stay Connected to the Community
Kirsty emphasizes the importance of maintaining a connection with co-workers and workplace culture for parents who struggle to find the time they need.
It’s easy to isolate yourself from your workplace when you are on maternity, parental, or paternity leave. However, remaining engaged, even casually, can make a big difference.
Why? Why?
You can find more flexible roles by exploring lateral moves in your organization. Switching to a position that has fewer hours or requires less travel.
You may miss opportunities to negotiate changes that allow you to balance your family life and a job you enjoy.
3. Do a Career Assessment: Know Your Strengths & Desires
Kirsty says that a career self-assessment is a crucial step. This process clarifies where you are professionally and what you want to do next.
Start by identifying your strengths. Consider your career highlights. When have you received great feedback? What were your strengths? Recognizing and valuing your strengths can boost confidence. It also shows what skills are most important to you.
Divide these skills into two groups:
- Technical Skills: Specify your industry, such as marketing, coding, or accounting.
- Transferable Skills: Abilities such as communication, leadership, and problem-solving that can be applied across multiple fields.
You can see the doors that your skill set opens by understanding this distinction.
Look at the areas in which you have lost interest or struggled. Kirsty suggests asking yourself if you want to improve or leave behind those areas. This reflection will help you decide what direction to take in your next job.
Think about the type of culture you would like to have in your workplace. Do you thrive best in hierarchical, structured environments? Or do you prefer relaxed, collaborative settings? Do you prefer to work in a large team or a small, close-knit group of people? What industries interest you?
This isn’t about just finding a job. It’s about opening up your mind to new possibilities, especially if you’ve only worked in one company or industry.
4. Your Skills Are More Than You Think!
Many parents can doubt their abilities when they return to work after a time away caring for a child. Kirsty says she has seen it a lot. “A lot of parents underestimate their abilities and expertise because they have lost confidence in the early stages of parenting.”
After a long break, it’s natural to feel a bit rusty. Your knowledge and experience are still intact, even if you’ve not been at the office daily.
Kirsty’s career counseling includes helping parents recognize their skills and successes. You can use your professional toolkit for new challenges by reflecting on past successes.
It is also important to recognize that certain skills may require updating. This is perfectly normal. Most employers are looking for candidates who can adapt and learn, especially those parents juggling work and family.
5. Try to Keep Trying Even if You Feel Trapped
Sometimes the truth can be bleak. Your finances may be tight and your energy low, or your management team might seem rigid. You may feel like you’re stuck in a job you don’t enjoy.
Kirsty is aware of this harsh reality, and she acknowledges that work for many parents is simply an income. That’s okay.
She encourages you to keep going if you want more – more flexibility, more fulfillment, and more control over the work-life balance.
Courage and perseverance are essential to securing your career. Advocating for yourself in your current situation while remaining alert to new opportunities. It can take months, or even years, to see a change. You may have to remain resilient during this time.
Kirsty: “I wouldn’t suggest that you stay in your job if you are unhappy because it takes up so much of your time.” You’ve got to enjoy it somehow.
6. Explore Flexible Work Options Actively
Parents should explore flexible work options, in addition to remaining connected and advocating on their behalf.
Many companies offer flexible schedules and remote work as a result of the pandemic. They also offer job-sharing, part-time positions, freelance gigs, or hybrid roles.
These models are a game-changer for parents. They allow you to find time for childcare while still maintaining your career.
Ask your colleagues and recruiters for information on flexible roles. Consider a trial period to test a flexible arrangement at your current job.
Flexibility is not just for parents. It can also boost employee satisfaction and productivity, making it an overall win-win situation for both employers and employees.
7. Prioritize Self-care and Boundaries
Changing work priorities can increase mental and emotional stress. It is difficult to balance a newborn and job responsibilities.
Kirsty stresses the importance of setting boundaries and self-care. This could be:
- Schedule family time without interruptions to your work
- Negotiating clear workday start and end times
- Prioritizing nutrition and sleep
- You can ask for help from your partner, family, or childcare providers
It’s not selfish to take care of yourself. A working parent must be successful.
8. Take Into Account Your Long-term Career Goals and Reassess them Regularly
As your child grows and as the needs of your family change, your priorities will continue to evolve. What works today may not work in six months or even a year.
Make career planning an everyday habit. Set both short- and long-term goals and evaluate your situation frequently.
It may be necessary to return to school, upgrade your skills, or change industries completely as new passions arise.
To thrive as a professional parent, it is important to be flexible and open-minded.
9. If You Need Professional Guidance, Seek It Out
Professional career counselling is a great resource if you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of your next steps.
Kirsty Levine, an expert in resume writing and interview preparation, can help you explore new career paths, clarify your strengths, create effective resumes, build confidence, and craft effective job applications.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It can speed up your return to a rewarding career that aligns with your role as a parent.
Conclusion
It is an emotional and complex journey to navigate shifting priorities at work after a child’s birth. No one solution fits all, but by reflecting, connecting, and having a strong sense of values and strength, you can find a way that works for your family.
Remember:
- Consider your work history before you had a baby to better understand what you desire now.
- Keep the doors open by staying engaged with your colleagues and workplace.
- Assess your abilities and the environments that you prefer.
- Never underestimate your ability to adapt and your knowledge.
- Your career is worth promoting, so persist even when you feel like giving up.
- Prioritise self-care and flexible work.
- Regularly reassess goals and ask for help if neededParenting indeed changes your life, but it does not have to ruin your career. It’s an opportunity to align your work with values, find fulfillment, and balance family and career success.
You may find that your work priorities change, but you can still thrive with the right mindset.
