The 3 confidence dips most maternity returners experience and how organisations can support them
Returning to work after maternity leave is one of the biggest transitions a working parent will ever navigate. It’s a period marked by excitement and possibility, but also uncertainty, identity shifts and unexpected changes in confidence.
What often surprises organisations, and returners themselves, is just how common it is for capable employees to experience a dip in self-belief when they come back to work.
As a maternity and return-to-work coach, I see this pattern time and time again. These confidence dips aren’t signs of low capability. They are completely normal responses to change and they are far more predictable than most people realise.
Here are the three confidence dips almost every maternity returner experiences, and what HR and managers can do to support them through each one.
1. The “Everything’s Changed” Dip
Even if a returner steps back into a familiar role, the environment around them rarely feels the same because over the months they’ve been away, organisations evolve:
New systems are introduced
Team structures shift
Priorities move
Faces change
Ways of working adapt
Colleagues have had the benefit of adjusting gradually. The returner, however, absorbs all these changes at once and often on top of the emotional and logistical adjustments of becoming a parent.
This sudden overload can feel incredibly destabilising, even for the most resilient employees.
How HR and managers can help:
Offer a structured re-onboarding plan
Provide a clear summary of what has changed and why
Encourage questions without judgement
Acknowledge openly that feeling unsettled is normal
2. The “I Should Be Able to Do This” Dip
Many returners expect to get straight back to their previous pace and standard. After all, it’s the same organisation, the same role and the same skill set.
But returning to work after maternity leave is, in many ways, like starting a new job including the pressure of wanting to prove yourself. When tasks feel slower, concentration takes more effort or confidence feels shaky, returners often interpret this as a personal failing instead of a predictable phase of readjustment.
How HR and managers can help:
Reset expectations for the first 30–60 days
Emphasise that productivity returns gradually
Prioritise what “good” looks like in the early weeks
Avoid language that implies they should be “back to normal” immediately
3. The “I’m Not Doing Either Role Well Enough” Dip
In coaching sessions, returners frequently describe feeling torn between work and home. They worry they’re not doing enough in either space and quietly fear letting people down.
This internal pressure fuelled by high standards, comparison and fatigue can erode confidence quickly, even when they’re performing far better than they think.
How HR and managers can help:
Normalise this emotional tension
Encourage honest check-ins
Model and support healthy boundaries
Reinforce strengths and progress, not just tasks completed
Building Confidence Back — Together
Supporting returners through this transition isn’t complicated but it does need to be structured, consistent and intentional. When organisations put the right support in place early, returners regain confidence faster, re-engage more fully with their role and feel genuinely valued at a time when retention risk is at its highest.
Maternity and returner coaching accelerates this adjustment by providing a confidential, tailored space for employees to rebuild clarity, prioritise effectively and regain the confidence they deserve to feel in their careers.
If your organisation wants to strengthen its support for employees returning from maternity leave, I’d be delighted to discuss how coaching can help.