Almost half of mums ‘struggle with nerves’ when they return to work after having kids, says survey

If you ever felt apprehensive about getting back to work after becoming a mum, know that you're not alone.

The vast majority of women struggle to adjust to life as a working mother, a new survey reveals. Nine in ten women who return to work after having a child say that they face problems. The most common issue was trying to balance time between children and work, with 54 per cent of women saying it was a problem. Over half said they said they felt guilty for leaving their child to go to work, while a third struggled financially. Mental health is also a common issue - 49 per cent of women said that they struggled with nerves over going back to work. Researchers for British HR training providers, DPG, queried 1,000 with children under the age of 16 for the survey. The respondents also shared their suggestions for how employers could work to support new mums. Almost half (46 per cent) wanted more flexible working hours, 30 per cent said that more paid maternity leave would be helpful while one in five wanted onsite childcare in workplaces. “We’ve always been aware that mothers need support to help them return to the workplace, but the scale of the problem that our survey has uncovered is shocking," said Sarah Loates, CEO of DPG. “Some new mothers make the choice to take time out from work to be with their children, but this study has shown that there are things that employers can do to make women feel more able to return to work after having kids."