Supporting Parents at Work: Lessons from a Real Return-to-Work Journey
- Laura Duggal
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
I’m delighted to share this powerful blog written by one of my coachees, Natasha Padhiar.
Her organisation invested in return-to-work coaching to support her transition back after maternity leave, and she’s kindly allowed me to share her reflections more widely.
Whether you’re preparing to become a parent, already navigating the challenges of balancing work and family life, or managing colleagues who are returning from parental leave, Natasha’s experience offers real insight. It shines a light on the very real emotional and practical challenges working parents face, and shows how the right support can make a lasting difference.
Working parents – the burden on mental health
By Natasha Padhiar, Healthcare
Returning to work after a period of maternity leave can bring up many different feelings. From the sadness of leaving your child in the hands of someone else and the worry about how they’re settling without you, to the guilt of missed milestones and concerns of rising childcare costs.
A recent survey from charity Pregnant Then Screwed has highlighted the huge numbers of parents struggling to balance work and childcare. Of those surveyed, 87% of parents said they found the balance to be a struggle. And it gets worse. 73% of parents in employment reported that stress was affecting their mental health.
When your mental health suffers, the rest of your body can also follow. As time goes on, people with poor mental health can put themselves at increased risk of developing other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity and depression. Whilst these may seem like long term conditions, poor mental health can also cause immediate concerns. These include increased cortisol levels leading to weight gain and changes to the skin, reduced energy, lack of motivation and an impact on your gut health and hormone levels.
All things that can negatively impact your working day. But what can be done to support working parents? As a new mother who has recently returned back to the office following maternity leave, I have found a few things that have helped me embrace this new stage of my life and protect my mental health at the same time.
At Madano, this started before I came back to the office. I was in contact with the team, who always made a point of not only asking how my baby was doing, but how I was feeling and getting on – you’ll be surprised at how often the way the parent is feeling is almost forgotten about. I was provided with maternity coaching which really gave me the opportunity to share my worries and concerns about returning to the office with an impartial person and helped me to feel empowered about this new stage of my life. Being back in the office, I feel there is an understanding that life outside of the office is also important. Rather than feeling guilty about having to run at a certain time for nursery pick-ups or being flexible about travelling home to take a call at home instead, I’ve been made to feel that there is nothing more important than this new role I have – and it’s something that has made a huge difference to me.
It feels easy to think a parent should snap back into who they were before going on maternity leave, but the truth is, everything has changed. Whilst we are the same person (almost) physically, mentally there has been a huge shift, and it’s something to be nurtured and celebrated, rather than a burden. It should never be, work like you don’t have a child, or parent like you don’t have a job.
Natasha’s story highlights the impact that understanding, flexibility, and tailored coaching can have, both for working parents and the organisations they’re part of.
If you’d like to see more client experiences and feedback about the difference parental return to work coaching makes, you can explore real results here.
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