Keeping in Touch With Colleagues on Maternity Leave
If you are planning to go back to the same job after having a baby, it is a good idea to keep in touch with your colleagues during maternity leave. This can help you stay up to date with any changes in your workplace and to enjoy some stimulating adult contact to women on maternity leave sometimes feel they are lacking.
Friendly Colleagues
If you have made good friends in your workplace, you will probably want to stay in touch throughout your maternity leave, with emails, texts and instant messenger services making it easier than ever to keep in contact. Make sure you ask about their work and personal lives, if appropriate, rather than just talk about your baby.Although they will be happy to hear about your new bundle of joy, it is not much fun to listen to if you don’t have your own family or if your relationship before maternity leave was more about large glasses of wine and gossip after work on a Friday night.
Professional Colleagues
If you have not made particularly good friendships in your workplace but still enjoy your colleagues company on a professional level, it is still a good idea to stay in touch. You can send the odd email and ask questions about particular projects, especially if key dates in the project will occur whilst you are on maternity leave. Do not copy in your colleagues to the emails you send to your friends and family – they will not be impressed if they get endless photos of your new baby and updates about your physical condition!By all means, send one photo after the birth, especially if your colleagues or boss has expressed an interest, but do not get carried away. Keep it professional or your reputation may suffer.