"The mistake made by many is that they take the statutory (in Germany) three years off work and forget the job altogether," said Monika Setzler who runs an advice centre at the chamber of commerce in Karlsruhe. "They end up being completely out of touch with what is going on at the workplace."
For that reason Stuttgart-based personnel consultant Petra Bonnet encourages women to speak to the boss about returning to work even before the baby has arrived.
Even if the child is very small, there may be an opportunity to work part-time or to cover for colleagues who are sick or on holiday, adds Setzler. The worst thing for an employee to do is to simply vanish from sight for the duration of the maternity leave.
Maintaining informal contacts is also important, points out career advisor Madeleine Leitner in Munich: "Employees on maternity leave who take the trouble to attend functions such as office leaving and birthday parties can show that they still feel an allegiance to their company."
Ideally, mothers should be able to take part in departmental and other meetings while on maternity leave and they would do well to keep in touch by retaining access to the company intranet and making sure they are still able to receive company emails.
"These days some firms even offer training and qualification courses for mothers during the maternity period," said Setzler. According to the expert, bosses are also gradually coming to appreciate the qualities of mothers who are often seen as approaching their job in a more mature and relaxed manner than younger staff members.
That is not to say that a woman should rely entirely on the schemes offered by individual companies and public organisations.
"For those mothers who intend to take the full three years off work, it is particularly important to invest in vocational training, even if it means paying for it yourself," said Setzler.
One scheme in the German port city of Hamburg focuses on career-minded women from middle management who might be on the lookout for an alternative to their old job. It seems that many women with this background, and who work for large companies, are wary of taking a long time off to look after a baby in case their job is put at risk.
"Many mothers have to completely reorganise their work lives since they are no longer as flexible and are unable to work for 40 or more hours a week," said Claudia Musekamp of Karrierezeit (career time).
The initiative even offers online coaching for mothers previously working in senior positions. This is designed to help them identify the extent of their personal skills, including the so-called social or "soft" skills honed during child-rearing, said Musekamp.
Karrierezeit sees itself as helping women to pinpoint their strengths before they opt for a new role, either with a previous employer, a new company or else as a self-employed person.
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