The value of transitional coaching for women managers post maternity leave in the South African business context

Abstract

Women are a critical resource to organisations, yet they are often not given the adequate support during their transition back to the workplace, post maternity leave. Whilst there are policies in place that afford women a leave of absence to care for their new-born baby, the lack of reintegration support structures may lead to women feeling discouraged and resigning from their current roles. The research study explores the value of transitional coaching to first time mothers post maternity leave, as they reintegrate into their organisations. A social constructivist approach was utilised, and the coaching sessions incorporated a narrative psychology coaching approach. The respondent group was made up of six first time mothers specifically at management level, that have returned to work post maternity leave in the last two years. A qualitative research approach was utilised and the data was manually coded by using constant comparative analysis or the coding of key words. Each participant completed a pre-session interview guide, received three coaching sessions and provided close out feedback on the value that they received. The coaching sessions aimed to support the new mothers as they identified goals for themselves and worked on tangible outcomes towards attaining these goals. The key themes that emerged from the research study noted that women are personally impacted during maternity leave (physically, financially, psychologically, hormonally, emotionally and socially). They struggle with balancing the priorities of their new-born baby’s needs whilst also managing deliverables at work. Guilt (work and baby) as well as elements of perfection and control also created more anxiety and stress for these new mothers. Role identity, especially in taking on the new role of mother, was another key theme that emerged. All the participants found value in the coaching sessions and each of the participants successfully implemented an action plan to realise their identified goals. All participants noted that there was a lack of organisational practices and processes to support women as they reintegrate into their previous roles post maternity leave. The recommendations provided are offered towards organisations, new working mothers, line managers, business coaches as well as the media, as they have a pertinent role in shaping societal norms and gender roles.