Katie Roberts Career Consulting

Whether you’ve had time off to raise a family, study, take a sabbatical, work for yourself, recover from an illness, or take an opportunity to work part-time – returning to full-time work can be a shock to the system! It’s not just the need to get out the door each morning and turn up to work, it’s the routine and ‘work’ mentality that you have to get on top of.

It’s a huge shift and returning to full-time work after a break – no matter what the reason – can be difficult. Take some time to prepare, settle in to your new workplace, and go easy on yourself because you’ll soon be feeling at ease. Our tips for success include:

• Organise your personal life: You’ll have less time for yourself than you’ve had previously, so try to ensure your personal life is as organised as possible. Think about when you can run errands that you’ve previously done during the day, make sure you have reliable child care arrangements if they’re needed, maintain your exercise or gym routine, plan your work outfits, organise your lunches, pack your bag the night before, and try to organise evening meals ahead of time to avoid feeling overwhelmed and out of control.
• Understand what’s expected: When you work for yourself, you might be used to doing everything. Be careful about being too keen to do this when you return to work. Not only could you offend someone by ‘doing their job’ but you could also be diverting your energy away from the areas you’re expected to be focused on. You were hired for a reason, so learn exactly where you fit and the value you’re going to add – this will be essential for your success.
• Find a friend: It’s important to have someone who can help you understand the law of the land. This isn’t about company rules, regulations, policies and procedures, but more about the company culture, general office politics and etiquette which can often take time to learn. It’s great if you can find someone helpful whose advice you can seek from time to time. Be careful not to overwhelm this person with requests or take up too much of their time.
• Get clear on communication: Organisations and individuals have broad ranging expectations regarding communications and it’s important you adapt to the existing behaviours early on. Work out what people do to communicate regarding different issues. Do people mostly communicate face to face, on conference calls, or via email? What’s the culture with walking up to people’s desks and nutting out a problem there and then? Does your supervisor expect constant updates on every detail, or just a heads up on major projects or issues?
• Keep your goal in mind: Whether you’ve returned to work for a steady pay check and regular benefits, to learn new skills, or be a part of a collaborative team again, it’s important not to lose sight of those reasons. Some days you’ll be thinking you can’t continue with the full-time grind and related commute, so on these occasions, remember your goal and why you returned to full-time work in the first place.
• Embrace change: Sometimes doing things the way you’ve always done them will not serve you best in the future. In your new workplace, there are sure to be things that are done in ways that you may not necessarily agree with or be comfortable with. Embrace the change and you might be surprised.
• Build your reputation: As a newbie, you’ll need to build your credibility before trying to change the world. Work on developing good relationships with your boss, colleagues and direct reports. Take some time to get to know people, offer assistance to others where appropriate, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it, and try not to be overly critical of the way things are done.

Successfully managing the change from part-time, home-based or no work, to working full-time again can be a huge challenge. By going easy on yourself to take the time needed to settle yourself into your new routine, find your place in your new role, and build new relationships, you’ll be off to a great start.

Are you looking to transition back to full-time work? Would you be interested in obtaining some career counselling to help you decide on what steps to take? If so, please see our career consulting services.