What no one tells you about returning to work after maternity leave in the UK
When I returned from maternity leave in 2019, 12 months after having my first baby in the summer heatwave of 2018, I vividly remember stepping off the train in London, UK, and feeling like both absolutely nothing had changed, and also everything had.
Back in the office, familiar problems were still a challenge. But around me, new people had joined. Projects had finished, been dropped or reshaped. The unwritten rules of the workplace had evolved, and I didn’t know them yet.
Returning to work after maternity leave in the UK is often described as a logistics challenge. But for most mothers, it is far more than that. It is a neurological shift, an identity shift, and a structural one. Very few workplaces prepare you for that reality.
If this transition has felt harder than you expected, you are not imagining it.
Why returning to work after maternity leave feels harder than expected
Returning to work after maternity leave in the UK feels harder than expected because you’ve changed and your workplace has changed, but the expectations often have not.
Becoming a mother literally changes the structure of your brain. Research shows increased sensitivity to risk and threat. Your nervous system is different. Your cognitive load is different. Your body may still be recovering.
In the UK, where statutory maternity leave can last up to 52 weeks, many mothers return expecting to slot back in after a year away. But workplace culture does not stand still. And neither do you.
You need time to adjust to being a working mother. I use that term cautiously, because no one talks about working fathers, but it helps to name the reality here.
You are now responsible for a whole other human.
Childcare. Sickness. Admin. Routines. Packing bags. Planning for inset days.
It is not just more to do. It is more to hold in your head at once.
The mental load nobody prepares you for
After maternity leave, especially maternity leave of 52 weeks in the UK, it is very easy to take on the cognitive responsibility for childcare, even in loving and progressive partnerships where this wasn’t your intention.
This invisible planning and anticipating work is known as the mental load of motherhood. It intensifies when you return to paid work.
Here is some of what suddenly sits with you:
Managing the transition into childcare, whether that is nursery, a childminder, a nanny, family help or a combination
Coping with the inevitable sickness of the first few months in childcare, and having a plan for when it happens
Compressing your work into the time between drop-off and pick-up
Managing payments, Tax-Free Childcare, funding codes, and reconfirmation forms
Keeping track of who needs what, and when
Sharing or redistributing this load is not about being perfectly equal. It is about being sustainable.
If this resonates, you might want to read more about the mental load of motherhood and how to reduce it.
Why this isn’t a confidence problem
When I went on maternity leave, I thought the real juggle would be the baby year.
I assumed that once childcare was sorted, I would go back to work as I was before. My partner and I would continue having nights out. Sleep would be settled. Things would normalise.
That expectation was unrealistic.
Research shared by Growth Spurt reported that 73% of parents did not receive adequate support when they returned from parental leave.
This is not about individual resilience. It is about systems.
Too many mothers feel they need to prove themselves immediately on return. There is rarely protected time for proper re-induction or a serious review of workload and scope.
Hours might be reduced (salary then usually reduces too). But the work often does not.
It is not surprising that so many talented women quietly leave.
Is it normal to feel anxious about returning to work after maternity leave?
Yes. Maternity leave return anxiety is extremely common.
Many mothers experience increased worry, imposter feelings, or anxiety about how they will be perceived at work, particularly in the first few months back.
This does not mean you are incapable. It means you are navigating a significant transition, often without much structured support.
Feeling unsettled at this stage is understandable. It is a response to change, not a personal failing.
What actually helps when returning to work after maternity leave
There is no quick fix. But some shifts make this transition more sustainable.
1. Resetting boundaries
This may be the first time you have needed clear and explicit boundaries with work.
Protected childcare pickups. Realistic response times. Clear finish points.
Working out what matters most to you, and communicating that, takes practice.
2. Renegotiating scope, not just hours
One of the biggest challenges I see is reduced hours without reduced responsibility.
If your hours have changed, your workload should too. That requires an honest conversation about deliverables and expectations, not just squeezing the same job into fewer days.
3. Seeking support before burnout
Burnout in working mothers does not always look dramatic.
It can look like irritability. Brain fog. A low level sense of dread at the start of the week.
Intervening early makes a difference.
If returning to work after maternity leave feels heavier than you expected, you do not have to manage it alone.
Coaching can help you think clearly about how work and home fit together now, and what needs to change for it to feel sustainable.
You can book a free call to explore whether that support would be helpful here: www.thefloat.space/book
