Workplaces that view maternity leave as a brief interlude rather than a major disruption are the most successful at retaining high-potential female employees after they have children, new Irish research has found.

According to the findings, if maternity leave is viewed as a brief interlude in a person's long-term career, mothers returning to the workplace after having a baby tend to report a more positive transition.

The research was carried out by DCU Business School and is the first of its kind to look at the perspectives of mothers, managers and organisations.

It found that if maternity leave was viewed as a major disruption, women tended to report more negative experiences. Three specific issues were highlighted in such cases:
-Career derailment
-Unconscious biases among colleagues
-A deterioration of professional relationships.

These cases tended to be compounded by a lack of open and transparent communication between the woman returning to work and her line manager.

However, if there was positive reintegration into the workplace, women tended to feel valued and this led to an enrichment of professional relationships and renewed focus.

Best practices identified by the research included organisations taking a longer-term view of a woman's career, allowing a phased return to work and training line managers in how best to support the transition back to work.

Poor practices included making assumptions about intentions or motivations, poor communication, assuming that retuning women would not be as engaged with their work and curtailing opportunities, such as promotions.

Commenting on the findings, lead researcher, Dr. Yseult Freeney, said that it shows that maternity leave ‘forms a critical juncture for many women in their careers'.

"The transition back to work is laden with challenges that can lead to career derailment when the return is not managed effectively. Fuelling this are views of maternity leave as a major disruption rather than a brief interlude, which can be conscious or unconscious.

"Managers who take a longer-term view often signal greater support to returners who, as a result, feel more valued and are far more likely to positively reintegrate into the organisation," she explained.

She added that ultimately, a positive return to work is associated with ‘a renewed focus on career and a strengthened relationship with the organisation'.

Over 300 women in 28 major organisations were interviewed as part of this research. They came from sectors including, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology and logistics.