Does an unplugged, email-free maternity leave really exist?

chandlam · February 2014

Hello!
I am newly pregnant and unfortunately already concerned about preparing for and surviving 12 weeks away for my job. I already can't WAIT to spend 3 glorious months with my baby but am dreading passing tasks off to my already overburdened coworkers. Any advice from those who have been through this transition? How did you handle asking coworkers to handle key tasks while you were out? Also, did you completely disconnect from office emails? Have someone else answer them for you? Any advice for a work stress free maternity leave would be so appreciated!

dizzycooks · February 2014

I did not work over my first leave. I didn't go to the office, call the office or check email. I will probably check in a little more this time as the end of the school year wraps up, but it's on my terms. No one would call me about something. I would just plan that you'll be out and divide up your work, leave jokes to those taking over and walk away. Life does go on without you, I promise.

shakinros · February 2014

Hi and congratulations! I had a completely work-free maternity leave. I had my work hire a sub for me (I'm a manager in a nonprofit). We're short-staffed already; no way could my coworkers take on more. I wrote down everything I could think of, and I had a week of overlap with my sub. Then my only communication with work was to talk about my exact return date. It was maybe two emails that didn't happen until 8wks after DD was born.

It can be done! It requires a respectful team at your work. My coworkers and boss were VERY on board with giving me space. I can't imagine it would work if people were reaching out to you to deal with stuff. Once your leave starts, don't touch your work email for any reason.

Good luck!

tarynh75 · February 2014

I think it really depends on the job. I run a company, so no, I am not expecting to check out 100%, but it could certainly be possible with a different type of job. I would suggest really looking at what decisions you are comfortable letting other people make.

MommyAtty · February 2014

It takes planning, and you should! I'm in-house counsel, and my workload is ridiculous. I made a chart of all my cases, projects, and standing meetings. Then I listed who my outside counsel were if I had them, in-house client for the matter, any special instructions, and the likelihood that it would come to a boil while I was gone. I also got everything as close to a good stopping point as I could. I thought I would at least check email while I was gone and responded to highly urgent matters. Well, man plans and God laughs. I ended up with this weird high blood pressure thing after a wonderfully uneventful pregnancy, and I flat could not work for the first 3 weeks. I took care of the newborn and spent every possible moment laying on my left side trying to keep my blood pressure down. My boss was so impressed with my planning that he's requested I do exactly the same thing this time around. Things were fine without me, though I did have to clean up a few things and bust my hump to catch things up, but nothing that couldn't afford to wait. (Side note: my boss took my chart to my CEO after I returned and used it to justify our going from 2 environmental attorneys and no paralegal to 5 environmental attorneys and 2 paralegals in 2 years. He pointed out just how screwed they would be if I left. And I got a promotion and 5 year retention grant to try to keep me there at least until the bun starts kindergarten. That's what they consider the time women are most likely to jump ship. So whoo hoo!)

mittensonkittens · February 2014

The specifics of your job make a difference. And how familiar your coworkers are with newborns can be a factor in how much they understand your need to disconnect. I'm an engineer managing R&D projects. I planned like crazy for my ML. Did as much in advanced as possible, and left detailed instructions for things that had to happen when I was out. I planned who was going to take over what, and got them up to speed before I left. I set up an out of office reply for my email that directed everyone to my coworker or my boss. For the first month after my kids were born, I didn't give a crap what was happening at work. Baby and sleep were all I cared about. My coworker who took over most of my stuff has 6 kids, and praised me for having my priorities straight. He let me know when he made a critical decision for the project while I was out, but otherwise he left me alone unless I asked for an update (which I did once in 12 weeks...). Since he had to do his own job plus cover for me, not much got done on my project. But I had planned well, so it wasn't a big deal. I've worked with people who have had emergencies come up suddenly, and work goes on without them. I was on a project where the key manager died suddenly at a critical time, and work went on without him. Family comes first. Work will deal.

CarrieB. · February 2014

If you are on short term DI, you should not be checking email or working at all. I was completely unplugged for my 6 weeks of DI and it was great. For the next 5 weeks I did work from home for 2 hours a day which made it easier to transition back.

chandlam · February 2014

Thank you all for this fantastic advice! It has made me breath a little easier already!

kristennd · February 2014

I'm a department head and I still managed to stay totally disconnected during maternity leave. It depends so much on your coworkers and administration though.

DiveFrog · February 2014

Totally doable. Honestly, the first 4-6 weeks work was the absolute farthest thing from my mind. I checked in a few times (on my terms) weeks 12-16. Mainly just so I could see where things stood with my projects and not have hundreds on emails to sort through when I did go back.

Work managed very well even when my transition didn't go as smoothly as planned since DD arrived 5weeks early. The coworker covering for me wasn't even scheduled to start covering for me for another two weeks so we had no overlap or handoff. Everything still worked out.

I will say the one thing I will do differently if we have another child, is leave some guidelines for when my boss SHOULD contact me. During my first leave our department went through a sudden reorganization due to the cancellation of large project (not one of mine). My director and boss moved me out of my position and one of my coworkers into my job. I ended up with a new job and different projects without any discussion with me. I found out via a reorganization email that I happened to see when checking in. It had real implications in regards to the travel and time away from my baby, the team of people I worked with and the technical area of work that was required. Both my boss and director didn't think moving me to a new job was important enough to contact me during my maternity leave.

cecilyandgautam · February 2014

It's your supervisor's job to assure your portfolio is taken care of while you're out so you won't be asking people to cover for you; your boss assign his employees the tasks that need to be covered while your team has one less person. This actually happens a lot in my organization - people temporarily fly out to other field offices, do a short stint in another office within the organization - so ML is just one of many reasons why some one might be out for a couple months and it's always the supervisor's responsibility to ensure the tasks of the office are completed. Generally, the missing person's portfolio is divided up into things that individual can wrap up and finish ahead of time, on-going tasks that have to be reassigned while they're out, and stuff that simply doesn't have to be done on an on-going basis so no one picks that up.

I do a lot of research so I wrapped up my research projects and was mostly unplugged while out. My boss occasionally called and asked me something which I didn't mind - a 5 minute phone call was no big deal to me - and if it required half an hour or more of my time, I just marked it as time worked. But how easy that is to do depends on the type of work and your role, I would think.

APendola · February 2014

Yes, you can and you should be free of the office for your mat leave. You are never going to have that time back so it's important you spend it the way that you want to.

My situation is a little different because I had a year of maternity leave...but I told by boss about my pregnancy at 3 months and they had plenty of time to work with me on preparing for my maternity leave. I spent a lot of time training my replacement so that they wouldn't need to call me for questions.

I did visit the office a couple times and send a few emails, but it was always more on the social side...just to see how people were doing etc.

82Sonia · February 2014

Yes and it should be as much as possible. I didn't communicate with work at all except to tell them when my daughter was born and again when I said I wanted another month of maternity leave. It was awesome!

laurakaz13 · February 2014

I had a work free maternity leave. I completely trusted the person who took on my job responsibilities, so I spent 14 weeks not worrying about work.

It's a good thing too, b/c I was shocked with how tough having a colicky newborn and sleepless nights would be. Luckily, she was over the colic and sleeping through the night by the time I went back.

ks3pink · February 2014

I'm a teacher and missed the beginning of the year so no I was not able to disconnect. I even went and sat in a six hour meeting when my boys were two weeks old at the request of my boss. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have gone to the meeting and I wouldn't have worried with grades, but at the time I felt that it was a good career move as I was a second year teacher with a new principal, hindsight is 20/20.

junebugrbig · February 2014

I was completely unplugged for both my maternity leaves. I had to do a lot of planning and organizing to be sure my work was covered. I informed all of my customers who would be filling in for me. Other than a couple of minor contacts right after it started (but before baby came) and right before my return (for planning and to get briefed on emerging issues), no one bothered me. I was gone for 13 weeks each time. It can be done!!

AllieMag24 · February 2014

I think it partly depends on what kind of work you do and what you want. I was probably 80% unplugged but there were a few things happening at work about which I wanted to be in the loop - namely my academic promotion that was underway. My colleagues were very respectful of me and I never felt any pressure to work, though I did attend a couple of meetings when DD2 was a few weeks old (she went with me!), namely because I knew doing so would result in increased income and goodwill. I think the reason it felt ok to me was that I chose to do it - I know I could have declined if I wanted to.

TigerLily12345 · February 2014

I am going through this as well. I work for a very small firm and can't imagine being unplugged. There are so many tasks and client relationships that no one else knows how to handle. I even offered to check in via email and work some on maternity leave.

However, my boss is insistent that I take 12 weeks completely unplugged. Now that I'm starting to wrap my head around it, I know that it will be good for me. I will prepare as much as possible, know that mistakes will be made in my absence, but it will be ok. I have also thought about having her change my email password.

The firm existed before me, and it will exist without me. (I have to tell myself that frequently)

mexicolombiana · February 2014

For me, I took 6 weeks off w/my first and 12 weeks w/my second. I was 100% unplugged for about 1-2 weeks. Then I turned "on" my work mail on my phone and easily responded to some client emails for the next several weeks. I'm a bankruptcy attorney at a small firm and it's very important to have continued contact w/clients. I didn't think it was a big deal at all to answer some emails.

I didn't however talk to clients on the phone or do any real bankruptcy work. I was unplugged with that respect. I mostly reassured clients that I would be back in a few weeks and to call my boss if they had more questions.

Beedeck · February 2014

My former HR at my old job would shut off our computer and email access the day we went on maternity leave. With DS I tried logging in about a week after I had him to try and catch up on emails while I was breast feeding. I was locked out. It was actually a relief. My new company doesn't even have an HR, and I don't get paid for maternity here so this pregnancy I'm not even going to attempt to "catch up".

snicksnack · February 2014

With both my kids I was called on a daily basis. With DS the person I trained for months decided she wanted to start her own business and her last day would be my due date so basically no one was trianed on my job at that point I was beyond annoyed because at the time I told my boss I did not trust her to stay the whole time and that it was a single point of failure but he did not want me training anyone else. My coworker is going out in May we are already down a person and they want me to do her job too. I went out and got myself an intern. This person is going to have an awesome internship all of my coworkers are reviewing their workloads so we can identify projects the intern can work on that will be meaningful while we stay focous on the strategic work. I don't plan to call my coworker at all while on leave because it annoyed me so much when they did it to me. If I have to work 60 hour weeks so be it she needs that time with her child

Puppies+Rainbows+Unicorns · February 2014

I wish! To a large degree i think it depends on your field and position. An assustant would never be bothered, but once you are titled there is no such thing as a work free vacation or leave where I work. During my leave my manager, "only expected me to work an hour a day.".

Carnation77 · February 2014

I completely disconnected. I was barely functioning so there's no way I could have contributed anything to work. I'm a lawyer and my job involves a lot of research and attention to detail, and there's just no way I could have competently done my job as sleep deprived as I was. The other attorneys I work with covered down. I only took 8 weeks, though.

Blantzakis · February 2014

Unknown · February 2014

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Flowerchica · February 2014

I was a workaholic..... but my team was awesome. They simply didn't take my calls or emails ... so I got the picture!

kelliskoviraWed244758 · March 2014

I unplugged as well. I was surprised that I was able to, being in management. My boss was awesome and spread out my duties over 3 of my coworkers. I went back Friday to 2970 emails, but my boss gave me the day to catch up. She plans to give me back my workload early next week. I attacked this by only reading the last 2 weeks of emails and skimming the rest. I figured the rest of the emails were taken care of (theoretically) since I had my out of office on stating who to contact. I realize I am lucky in this sense. Out HR department does not allow us to check emails even though they don't turn them off.

*sparky* · March 2014

mbenit4 said:

Yes, they exist. It is really up to you to set that boundary before you leave. I let it be known that when I was out - I was out.

This.

During my first ML, I was open to checking in during my ML, but I had a very close knit team and loved my boss so I did not mind doing whatever to keep things going smoothly and in turn they did whatever they could to not bother me while I was out. Everyone had also worked there for a long time, so we all were able to at least cover somewhat for each other.

The place I work now is crazy and my boss was expecting me to work during my ML but I told him the other day I will be completely unavailable for the 12 weeks. Now, in reality, I will check in here and there, but if my boss has the expectation of me having any availability he will take advantage. As it is he calls me on my days off now (I work PT). So I needed to set clear boundaries upfront.

I set up a secure folder on our shared drive and I am putting all of my important files and notes in that folder for two people that will be covering most of my work. Unfortunately, in this company, everyone kind of does their own thing and there has been no cross training, so covering my work will be new for them. Hopefully everything will go smoothly but I cannot get myself too worked up if it does not.

julie921 · March 2014

I work in HR and like a PP mentioned, my company disables access for anyone on a Leave. So, while on Leave, employees are not able to log-in, access emails, etc. We get a lot of complaints about that, but I think a lot of people secretly love it as well :-)

michaeladoelman · March 2014

I stayed connected during both maternity leaves. What helped my coworkers was putting together a task list with everything I had going on with instructions and due dates when applicable. I also appointed an interim director while I was out so people outside the office knew who to connect with. However I also put my email on my personal cell so I could monitor it and forward emails if they were urgent. A lot if people this wouldn't work for but it was less stressful for me because I didn't have to wonder if I was missing anything. My advice is figure out what your personality is as plan for that. From the sounds of it, since you're already worried and planning, you may want to stay connected on your terms. Definitely make sure your coworkers and boss are fully aware of what those terms are early on so they can plan for it too.

CoraCordero · March 2014

If you are getting short term disability from your employer, you are not supposed to work at all! My employer told me that if they found out that I was working (at another job) they would fire me immediately. That means, I won't work for them either!! Your note from your doctor says you are not to work. Disconnect yourself, it's your right.

Shelleybell · March 2014

i shut off my computer and did not turn it back on until the weekend before i was due to go back to work. it was fantastic.

blushingbride_08 · March 2014

I was unplugged during my leave. I did check in with my coworkers via email and phone but We didn't discuss work related things. I made sure to train everyone before i left. Also I think it is illegal to work while on disability in some states.

csspencer · March 2014

I'm Federal, so I was forced to completely unplug from work, my email was turned off, and I had no access to my voicemails. MH works in the same office, so I would pass my leave slips and any paperwork that my boss needed through him. The only thing work related that I had to do was my yearly appraisal. They have deadlines to get those done, so I used it as an excuse to show LO off to my coworkers.

happy_un-bride · March 2014

I did. I actually left work kind of abruptly. I called in sick to work one day, worked from home then next, and was admitted to the hospital that night - all 4 months before my due date. I was then off on sick leave until lo was born. I checked in a little in the first couple weeks making sure my boss had all my work/clients under control and then I stopped. Ds was born, and then I enjoyed my 1 year maternity leave (canada). I've been back at work for less than a month. It's a big adjustment coming back, it's like starting from scratch, but I wouldn't trade a second of it - focus all your time and energy on lo!

jfidd059 · March 2014

After reading through these posts, I feel incredibly lucky. Not only do I get an entire year off, there is no employer that I stay connected at all (in fact, its discouraged).

jfidd059 · March 2014

sorry- pressure from employer

Curls218 · March 2014

My original plan was to talk to my bosses and split my work up between my coworkers and update them on everything going on or that might happen. Then the baby came over 3 weeks early and right before I was going to have that convo.

I ended up sending some e-mails to coworkers from the hospital (one while I was in labor but it was a time sensitive project I needed to pass to a coworker for one of our biggest clients - the coworker still makes fun of me about that one). Then they called with a few questions over the first week or two just when they needed something they couldn't figure out on their own, but after that they only called or e-mailed to let me know of important things going on (like a coworker leaving, etc). I disabled my e-mail from my phone so i wasn't constantly checking it. I was out for 14 weeks total. So I'd say I had a 99% work-free maternity leave.

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