The take-up for Real Estate Balance’s new network for parents returning to work shows the demand for greater support for people coming back. With over 850,000 workers taking parental leave each year1, it’s in everyone’s interest to settle back in as quickly as possible and progress in their careers.
Supporting returners to work is so important for businesses. When an individual has been through one of the biggest changes in their life, if they don’t feel valued, they may decide to leave the company or the workforce altogether. Thankfully, with more employers stepping up in this space, that’s now less of a pattern, but it’s still a risk.
It’s not only about retaining talent, but also about empowering people to achieve their full potential and keep progressing. When a company invests in someone who is going somewhere and that person takes time out to have children, if their career then stalls and they don’t reach their full potential, everyone loses out.
It’s about attracting talent too. Parental benefits are part of a suite of things that reveals whether an organisation cares about their employees. People now look at this before joining a company, and probably earlier in their careers than an employer might think.
Growing confidence and networks
Coming back to work after extended leave can feel overwhelming. When I first returned from maternity leave, I found going to industry events daunting because I wasn’t up on the latest deals and market trends. If I felt that way in an organisation that’s best in class at supporting parents, how does it feel for employees without the benefit of parental coaching, a full assistance package and colleagues who have already navigated these paths?
Conversations with others in the same situation or who have been through something similar can be a real boost for returners to work, helping them settle back in quicker. That’s the thinking behind Real Estate Balance’s Returning to Work Parents’ Network, launched last month to connect parents in real estate with colleagues outside their organisation.2
In the first week, over 50 people signed up from a range of businesses. Members are invited to join small groups of five fellow returners who meet regularly to share experiences, exchange ideas and discuss issues, growing their confidence and wider networks.
We’d expected the appeal to be strongest for people in small organisations, where someone might be the first woman in several years to take maternity leave, or where no man has ever taken longer than two weeks’ paternity leave before. Yet, there’s clear demand for external connections and support across the board, with members joining from companies large and small.
Levelling the playing field
Around four in five members of the network so far are female and one in five is male. This reflects wider gender disparity on parental leave. In most companies, maternity leave is a well-trodden path, but paternity leave longer than a couple of weeks isn’t. For anyone who believes in creating a society where men and women are equal at the upper levels of business, encouraging shared parental leave and helping returners to work get back on their career ladders quickly are key to levelling the playing field.
When British Land talked to colleagues before introducing enhanced shared parental leave and pay four years ago, some men were desperate to take more time, but it didn’t make financial sense for their families. Once that was addressed, the biggest change was cultural. Male colleagues today tell me their conversations with line managers about shared parental leave are simple and easy, which is not the case everywhere in real estate if the feedback from the network launch is anything to go by. This cultural shift at British Land has contributed to around 60% of eligible male colleagues taking shared parental leave over the last four years, compared to a national take-up of just under 2%.3
If there was greater support for all returners to work and more companies normalised men taking parental leave, everyone would benefit. Having a family doesn’t need to impact career progression.
1 Research by law firm EMW based on HMRC data (2020): www.emwllp.com/latest/low-paternity-leave-take-up/
2 Real Estate Balance is a cross industry organisation championing diversity: www.realestatebalance.org/
3 Research by law firm EMW based on HMRC data (2020): www.emwllp.com/latest/shared-parental-leave-increase/