If you think that maternity leave is all about changing diapers and breastfeeding, then you’re mistaken. Yes, that’s part of it, and you’ll want to spend lots of time with your baby. But it turns out that going on maternity leave also provides you with opportunities to further your business.
Yes – you read that right. Spending months away from your job can actually help you make more money long-term!
So what do you need to do?
The Best Possible Use Of Maternity Leave
Create A Game Plan
Taking months off work can adversely affect your career – any experienced mother will tell you this. But it isn’t inevitable. If you have the right strategy in place, you may find that it doesn’t damage your prospects at all.
With that said, you must develop a game plan first before you do anything else. A plan sets out how you’re going to remain valuable to your firm, even if you’re not going to be around for a long time.
When you talk about the issue with senior people in the company, avoid being apologetic. Instead, present your plan with confidence and show how it benefits the people around you. https://www.mother.ly suggests talking about who will handle your workflow and what will happen going forward.
Talk About Life Post-Baby
The next thing to do is safeguard your position going forward. You need to convince the company that things will return to normal post-baby. Set out a schedule for the projects you intend to complete and by when.
Upskill
While you’re off work, you can use the time to upskill and become more productive. Doing a course on accounting, as suggested by https://www.copas.org/online-cpe-courses-for-accountants/, helps you get to grips with issues like tax and payroll that your company needs to address.
When upskilling, only invest in skills that your firm needs. If you don’t need to speak French, don’t go off and do a course in French. Instead, focus on areas that will add value to your business, such as product development, sales, marketing, and finance.
Automate Tasks During Maternity Leave
When you’re off work on maternity leave, you have a rare opportunity to explore task automation tools.
Task automation is easier than you think these days. Thanks to modern software, you can hand over many things to machines. For instance, there is software that can now update your social media posts, so you don’t have to. You can also use it for things like customer service filtering.
Stay Well Connected
Just because you’re at home, it doesn’t mean that you have to cut yourself off from your business entirely. You can still send emails and pick up the phone when you need to.
The trick here is to be efficient in your communications. Keep track of what’s happening in the business and add comments when you feel they offer people real value. You may find that small amounts of direction help your firm function better.
Make the Most of Your Maternity Leave
So, there you have it: the best possible ways to make use of your maternity leave when you own a business. Which of these strategies will you be using at your firm?
