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The talent problem in finance isn’t hiring. It’s what happens after parental leave
Finance, accounting, and insurance are built on precision. Accuracy.Judgement.Performance under pressure. These are industries where people are expected to operate at a consistently high level — often with little room for error. And for the most part, that works. Until something changes. The moment that breaks the model Each year, highly capable professionals step away from these roles for parental leave. Senior analysts.Managers.Directors. People who have spent years building expertise in complex, high-responsibility environments. And when they return, the expectation is simple:  Pick up where you left off. But the... Read more...
Healthcare doesn’t have a retention problem. It has a return-to-work problem
Healthcare is under pressure. Staff shortages.Rising demand.Increasing complexity of care. It’s one of the most talked-about workforce challenges in the UK right now. So the focus has been clear:  Recruit more people Retain the ones we have But there’s a critical moment that sits in between those two things — and it’s largely being overlooked. The point at which experienced professionals come back. The moment that matters most Every year, thousands of highly trained healthcare professionals step away from work for parental leave. Nurses.Doctors.Allied health professionals. People with years of experience,... Read more...
Manufacturing is investing in systems. But ignoring the people holding them together
Manufacturing is under pressure. Rising costs.Automation.AI.Efficiency targets tightening across the board. So organisations are doing what they’ve always done best — refining systems. Optimising processes.Investing in technology.Driving productivity. But there’s a quieter shift happening underneath all of this. And it’s far less visible. The part that isn’t being managed As roles evolve and teams get leaner, something else is changing:  The human experience of work is becoming less stable Jobs are no longer fixed.Processes are changing faster.Expectations are increasing. And then someone goes on maternity leave. What they return to... Read more...
If even wellbeing companies can’t get this right, what does that say about the rest of us?
We tend to assume that companies in the wellbeing space do this better. If your entire product is built around mental health, balance, and support — surely your own people experience that too. Surely the return to work after maternity leave feels… different. Better. More understood. But when you look more closely, that assumption doesn’t always hold. And that’s where this gets interesting. The expectation vs the reality Wellbeing companies — whether that’s meditation apps, coaching platforms, or mental health providers — are built on the idea of supporting people... Read more...
Why 70% of Teachers Are Considering Quitting — And What It Tells Us About Working Parents
Introduction Recent data suggests that 70% of teachers have considered leaving the profession due to the challenge of balancing work and family life. At first glance, this feels surprising. Teaching is often seen as one of the most “family-friendly” careers. Structured hours. Shared holidays. A role that, on paper, should fit more easily around children. But this statistic tells a different story. Because what’s happening here isn’t just about teaching. It’s about what happens when someone returns to work after having children — and the role they’re returning to no... Read more...
We’re Helping Women Return to Work — But Not Fixing Why They Leave
Recent UK initiatives are investing in helping women return to the workforce — particularly in sectors like technology. Returnships.Re-skilling programmes.Back-to-work pathways. On the surface, this looks like progress. And in many ways, it is. But it also raises a more uncomfortable question: Why are so many women needing to return in the first place? The Pattern We’re Not Talking About Across industries, the pattern is consistent. Women step away from work after having children.They attempt to return.And somewhere in that transition, things don’t quite hold. Some leave again.Some reduce their... Read more...
Policies are improving. So why aren’t women staying?
There’s been real progress in how organisations support women at work. Maternity policies have improved.Flexibility is more widely accepted.New employment rights continue to be introduced. A recent article in The Guardian described this as a “huge boost” for women. But it raises an important question: Why aren’t we seeing a meaningful shift in retention? Women are still stepping away from roles.Still downshifting.Still questioning whether they can continue at the same level. Because the issue was never just the policy. It’s what happens after. The return to work remains one of... Read more...
The Real Cost of Losing Senior Women After Maternity Leave
The real cost of losing senior women after maternity leave When a senior woman leaves a business, the conversation usually focuses on replacement. Who do we hire?How quickly can we fill the gap? But rarely do organisations stop and look at the full cost of what’s been lost. Because it’s not just the recruitment fee. The financial cost is only the starting point Research by Oxford Economics found that it costs UK businesses over £30,000 to replace an employee. And that’s an average across roles. For senior positions, the true... Read more...
The Transition Doesn’t End When You Return to Work
We often talk about returning to work after having children as if it’s a single moment. A point you move through.Something you adjust to.Something you eventually “get back on top of.” But in reality, that’s rarely how it feels. Because just as things start to settle…they change again. It Doesn’t Stop at the Return At first, it’s the return to work itself. Figuring out new routines.Managing the logistics of childcare.Trying to find your footing again professionally. But then: Your child starts nursery.And with that comes illness, unpredictability, disrupted routines. Then... Read more...
First Day back.....
You’ve already been up since 6am.Probably earlier. You’ve negotiated breakfast.Cleaned yogurt off the floor.Packed bags. Forgotten something. Gone back. You’ve already done a full day — and it’s not even 9am. And then you walk into work. Everything looks the same.Your desk. Your team. The conversations. But you don’t feel the same. There’s this strange moment where you realise: You don’t quite know where you fit anymore. No one says anything.No one does anything wrong. But suddenly it feels like: everyone else is operating normally and you’re… not You’re more... Read more...
Are decisions around family always just emotional?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversation around working from home. It’s often framed as productivity, company culture, or being seen to be committed. But there’s a quieter thread emerging in the research: flexible and remote work may be linked to people feeling more able to have children — and in some cases, actually having more.That’s fascinating.Because it suggests something I see in my work all the time:Most decisions about family aren’t purely emotional, they are logistical. Can we afford it?How will we manage childcare?Who will flex when someone’s... Read more...
Is support to just get you back enough?
A lot of parental support focuses on getting people back. But many of the difficulties show up after the return.When someone is technically back at work, but internally still re-orienting. What often looks like loss of confidence, disengagement, or pressure isn’t a performance issue.It’s a transition issue.And transitions need a different kind of support than fixing or optimising. Read more...
Why is parental leave still just a policy issue?
Parental leave is one of the most predictable points of talent loss and yet we still treat it as a policy issue.What’s missing isn’t benefits. It’s support for the human transition.Transitions don’t resolve themselves just because the paperwork is done.This is where organisations quietly lose or retain their people. Read more...
Just hit the ground running!
One thing I keep noticing about major life transitions, especially becoming a parent, is how quickly we’re expected to move on.Back to work.Back to productivity.Back to who we were before.But many transitions involve loss as well as gain. And when there’s no space to acknowledge what’s ended, the return can feel heavier than we expect.I’m coming back to LinkedIn after some time away, and this year I want to explore the emotional and professional realities of transition — particularly for parents returning to work.What’s a transition you were expected to... Read more...

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