Profession.hu: Almost half of the women did not return to their original workplace after maternity leave

Almost half of the women did not return to their original workplace after maternity leave, and 23 percent of them specifically did not because their work would have been incompatible with their private life, according to the representative research conducted by Profession.hu at the end of 2023. Starting this year, Hungary’s most visited job portal Profession.hu launched a social responsibility initiative with the cooperation of UNICEF Hungary. The focus of the campaign is on employees preparing for, expecting and raising children.

Flexibility, but to what extent?

Employers should think about the extent to which they are able and willing to adapt to the changed private life situation of a colleague. In the current labor market, employers are largely recruiting more slowly, their goal is rather to retain the existing, proven workforce, and a significant part of this group is made up of workers with small children – so the job market processes have made the issue even more relevant than usual. The spread of the home office due to the epidemic situation and the rise of similar, atypical forms of work have both benefited parents, so many of them can organize their family and work life much more flexibly.

It is worthwhile for all companies to consciously deal with their employees who will soon leave temporarily due to childbirth, who are currently on maternity leave, and those who are returning from it. You must prepare for similar situations, even if the given company – for example due to its scope of activity – is less likely to allow its employees atypical forms of work, such as home office or flexible working hours. There are many other tools they can use to reduce the number of employees who leave because of the challenges of having children. For example, it is important to initiate a dialogue with an employee who is pregnant or returning after giving birth, where both parties can express their point of view and then reach a consensus regarding their future plans – this step can be taken regardless of the company’s profile.