Getting Back in the Groove

A Note to Minions:

Whether away due to maternity/paternity leave or sabbatical, getting back to full potential can be difficult.

If you were away and are returning to a previous post, you may hold yourself to the exact standards you were up to when you left.    

Dig deep: remember your first day of school after summer vacation.  You were sitting in that math or language class with your eyes glazed over racking your brain to remember the materials in the so-called “review” before moving onto new topics. 

But that’s just the point: review and give yourself time to remember how to do your job and maintain a positive work ethic.  Give yourself up to a week to regain ground – how did you problem solve, how did you strategize for a meeting, and remember that new procedure that was implemented before you left?  When you were eleven, you didn’t expect yourself to have a great first week back, but with patience, you managed to get up to speed. 

A Note to Supervisors:

This isn’t the same John/Jane Doe that left four months ago.  If your employee just had a baby enter their life, they have new fears, new responsibilities, sleep deprivation, are worried about breast pumping three times a day, and are trying to get back to a world they left behind.  Even if they were on extended vacation/sabbatical, they have new experiences and perspectives.

Meet with them, offer support, and give them a moment to adjust.  If that’s hard, imagine how your teachers felt when you were sitting at your desk staring out the window with your eyes glazed over, overwhelmed to be back after a long summer.