Written by Mimi Village

How to support parents returning to work, lessons from two CEOs

1st August, 2025   •  

Supporting parents returning to work is one of the most urgent, and often overlooked, challenges in today’s workplace.

Nearly 80% of mothers return to work after maternity leave. But a huge proportion (47%) then leave their jobs within the first year. Not because they want to, but because the system is built on old rules that no longer fit real life. Especially not life as a parent.

“If I stop early to spend time with my daughter before bed, I feel like I’m not doing enough at work. If I don’t stop early, I feel like I’m missing out on being a good mother. We call it flexibility, but sometimes it can feel like the opposite.”
Augusta, CEO of Higson

There’s a quiet tension many parents carry when returning to work, especially in leadership roles. Society frames parental leave as a ‘pause’, but coming back to work can be far from a simple ‘play-and-resume’.

There’s the visible workload. The invisible mental load. The pressure to ‘slot back in’ like nothing happened. And, for many mothers, the additional burden of guilt, both for leaving their children, and for not ‘giving 110%’ at work.

It can feel almost paradoxical; we promote flexibility as the answer, but the experience of it, especially when leadership and legacy are involved, can feel quite far from ‘freedom’.

“I run a business designed to prioritise flexible working. And yet, I still feel guilty leaving to do the school run at 3pm. What kind of messed-up brainwashing machine have we all been in for the last 20 years that the guilt still hangs on?”
–  Nyree, CEO of Jack and Grace

When Augusta, our CEO, returned to Higson after parental leave, she came back not just as a parent, but as a founder. And for many founders, that shift is uniquely challenging. You go from dedicating every spare thought and ounce of energy to building your business (your first baby)  to suddenly being responsible for a new kind of care, one that redefines your priorities overnight. It’s not just a change in schedule; it’s a profound shift in identity.

“Before I had my daughter, I genuinely thought I could do both, be the same leader I was before, and be the mother I wanted to be. It’s obviously not as simple as that. And that shouldn’t be a surprise, but it still is.” ~ Augusta

This isn’t just personal, it’s systemic. As Nyree put it, the “rules of work” that govern our expectations, of hours, availability, productivity, are not natural laws. They’re inherited defaults. And they’re ripe for dismantling.

“The hardest part of rewriting the rules of work isn’t the rewriting – it’s the living. We all breathe in the ‘norms’ of work for so long that we forget they’re just choices. Old habits die hard – you have to work at living the change.” – Nyree

The CEO paradox

Returning as a CEO, not an employee, brings its own unique challenges: how to reclaim authority and energise the team, without undermining the incredible work that has happened in your absence. 

“It’s not about coming back and taking over. I had to figure out how to step in again with clarity and presence, without stepping on toes.” ~ Augusta

Instead of diving in, Augusta treated her return like a fresh start. 

She adopted a “shadow 100-day plan” – observing, listening, reflecting. Looking at the business as if she were a brand-new CEO:

• What’s working?
• What’s changed?
• Where do I need to be now?

This gave her space to lead from perspective, not pressure. And gave the team space to continue owning what they’d built.

“If something worked well without me – amazing. Let it keep working. I can focus on where I’ll add the most value now.” – Augusta

The guilt paradox

One of the most emotionally complex parts of flexible working is the double-edged nature of that very flexibility. 

“I used to tick everything off my to-do list. Now I have to leave things undone, knowing I won’t get that time back with my daughter. Spending time with her at the end of the day is so precious. But it’s hard. There’s always more I could be doing. And yet, if I don’t stop to see her, I feel like I’m failing her. Either way, there’s guilt.”  ~ Augusta

Ironically, the freedom to leave and spend time with her daughter becomes a non-negotiable boundary, and an emotional one. As Augusta put it, it often feels like swinging from one baby to the other. At Higson, we’ve built a culture grounded in flexibility, understanding, and kindness. The team respects and protects Augusta’s earlier finish, it’s never questioned. And yet, the guilt still creeps in. Not because of pressure from colleagues, but because of the deeper rooted messages society sends about what it means to be a “good” worker, and a “present” parent. As Augusta says, “It would be even more amazing if there wasn’t this guilt attached to doing both.”

Nyree echoed this emotional load. Even in a company that’s structurally built for radical flexibility, guilt still lingers.

“Flexible working, shared parental leave, salary transparency – we’ve done the policy work. But guilt isn’t solved by policy. It’s emotional and cultural. That’s the hardest part – unlearning what work used to mean.” ~ Nyree 

Supporting parents returning to work: What can companies actually do?

The most progressive companies aren’t just offering perks; they’re rethinking the scaffolding of how work fits into life.

Here’s what that can look like in action…

1. Make flexibility the default structurally and culturally

Flexibility works best when it’s baked into both systems and mindsets. At Higson, this means a clear flexible working policy and an unlimited holiday policy, which makes it easier for people to truly work around life, rather than squeeze life into work.

At Nyree’s company, all roles are part-time by default.

“Most leaders are shocked. But the shocking thing is that someone, somewhere, once decided every job should be 37.5 hours a week. That’s madness.” ~ Nyree

But even with the right structures, culture is what sustains it. Flexibility only works when people feel emotionally safe to use it, without guilt, apology, or fear of judgment.

2. Create a re-Induction plan, not just a return date

Whether someone is returning as a CEO or an employee, the return shouldn’t be treated like a simple continuation. It’s a transition — and it deserves proper structure.

At Higson, we have a full re-induction plan for returning team members. That includes:

• Coaching and mentoring
• Shadowing opportunities
• Training and upskilling
• New focus areas and goals

For Augusta, returning as CEO, this was the “100-day shadow plan”, taking time to listen, observe, and assess where the business had evolved, and where her energy was most needed.

“That mindset helped me find clarity, not just in what I needed to re-own, but in what I could now let go of. That created space for the team, and gave me space to think about what’s next.” ~ Augusta

This kind of thoughtful, structured re-onboarding helps returners feel ready and supported to step into their next chapter, not just their old job.

3. Build policies that reflect reality

Shared leave

Offering shared parental leave isn’t enough, it has to be normalised, encouraged and underpinned by a culture that truly values time away to care. That means celebrating, not quietly penalising, fathers who take extended leave.

When fathers take just two weeks off and mothers take months, the imbalance begins. The mother becomes the default parent. Once established, that dynamic can be hard to reset.

Taking meaningful shared leave helps redistribute care from the start, setting up healthier co-parenting dynamics at home and more equal expectations at work.

“The first five months, you’re just trying to survive. Seven months means you actually get the chance to reset before coming back, not just recover.” ~ Augusta

Not-so-simple policies

At Jack and Grace, this extends to policies that support the full human experience, like a miscarriage leave policy, which they’ve made public and share openly with others.

“If we keep these policies to ourselves, we’re slowing down progress. We need to share, adapt, learn.” ~ Nyree 

The guilt so many returning parents feel isn’t a personal failing – it’s a byproduct of outdated systems. Supporting parents returning to work means redesigning those expectations and shifting definitions of leadership.

But things have changed: in their lives, in their priorities, in what great leadership can look like. This is a systemic issue, deeply rooted in the way we define work and value time. But there are steps we can take. By rewriting our policies, intentionally shaping our cultures, and truly listening to what returning parents need, we can create workplaces that work better for everyone.