NEW Report: TAKE CARE (of colleagues on maternity and furlough)

We asked 100 people about their experience of being away from work on maternity leave, furlough and other types of extended absence from work, during the pandemic. Download our short report.

Nine needs of leave

We frame our work and solutions around what we call ‘the nine needs of leave’ and we asked questions relating to these. The nine needs of leave are:

• To feel a sense of BELONGING
• To feel UNDERSTOOD
• To feel I have PURPOSE
• To feel EQUIPPED
• To feel SECURE
• To feel ACCOMMODATED
• To feel COMPETENT
• To feel VALUED
• To feel SUCCESSFUL

Together these nine needs, when satisfied, lead to employees feeling confident, connected and cared for.

40% don’t feel a sense of BELONGING

We were saddened that 40% of the people who asked didn’t feel a sense of belonging whilst they were away.

Of those 100 people only 14 had something positive to say in response to the question, “what’s the most caring thing someone from your organisation has done for you whilst you’ve been away?”

Top 3 Worries

1.Feeling behind and out of the loop

2.Balancing the demands of work and home

3.Re-establishing myself in the team

Helpful resources

What resources had our respondents drawn upon to get them ready for work again?

• Comeback Community – our new employee experience for team members taking leave and their line managers. Find out more.
• TED Talks
• 1:1 Coaching
• Following experts on social media
• Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers