Maternity leave is the furthest thing from a vacation, and these out-of-office messages will say you’re unavailable (and why) directly and honestly.
There are no words for the postpartum experience, and no “out of the office” message can carry the weight of what a mother is going through during that time.
All new parents deserve time off work responsibilities and focused solely on caring for their new babies, healing, and settling into their new family.
Quick glance:
- “I’m currently out of the office meeting the person who has grown inside of me over the last nine months, going through significant hormonal changes, recovering physically, and balancing the busy day-to-day of raising a family with little to no nothing. sleep.”
- “I’m going back to ___. Please contact ____ when I’m gone (and send food!).”
- “Out of the office but busier than usual. Will be back in _____. Please contact ____ with any questions.”
- “On maternity leave. I’ll come back with more time management skills, multi-tasking abilities, ways to diffuse tense situations, and negotiation techniques.”
- “Currently I wake up at 12 am, 2 am, 4 am, and 6 am. Hopefully I’ll get more sleep here when I get back to the office. See you [too] soon! In the meantime, please contact my colleague _____ for support.”
- “I will be out of the office from __ to __. I will not be responding to emails during this time as I will be adjusting, physically and mentally, to life with a newborn. I look forward to speaking with you when I return. Please contact ____ while I am away.”
Maternity leave is not vacation; your out-of-office must be honest
A lot goes on in a mother’s mind and body after giving birth. Healing and recovery from birth, however, the baby was brought into the world, takes time.
They visit the bathroom, endure frequent incontinence, full aches and pains, and change postpartum pads, all while giving themselves frequent wound care and trying to figure out how to feed a baby.
Significant hormonal changes can make crying an hourly occurrence (both from mother and baby).
And feeding the baby? No matter how you do it, the process requires education, learning, and time.
Breastfeeding is frequent incredibly challenging at first and a job in itself; this includes pumping, being available for the baby around the clock, and, for some, physical pain. Some parents use formula, which is also wonderful, but Cleaning and preparing these bottles takes time.
Mothers never sleep; they wake up every few hours through the night and welcome the day, often feeling jet-lagged and reliant on caffeine to get to the next (very short) nap.
Many mothers (at least 1 in 5) experience postpartum anxiety and/or depression, wondering when they will see the light again. Let’s remind these moms 100% of perinatal mood disorders are treatable. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your doctors, family, and friends for extra support.
New moms are adjusting to their new reality and wondering when they’ll feel like themselves again. Spoiler alert: it takes time, and you will do it.
Experienced mothers take care of their other children while doing all of the above, trying to heal, rest, and care for their newborn.
Doing all this while also thinking about work is almost impossible. So also Maternity leave is very important not just for mothers themselves but for their new babies, older children, and partners.
Copy and paste messages out of the maternity leave office
For those looking for some colorful ways to describe the work they do while on maternity leave, we share five ideas below.
No matter how you create your maternity leave out-of-office email, it’s important to communicate that you’re on maternity leave, who to contact while you’re away, and the estimated date of return (or not!).
1. The “brutally honest” OOO
I’m currently out of the office catching up with the person who’s grown inside of me over the last nine months, going through significant hormonal changes, recovering physically, and balancing the busy daily grind of raising a family with barely any sleep . .
I will return to ___. Please contact ____ when I’m gone (and send food!).
2. The “short and sweet” OOO
Out of the office but busier than ever. Going back to _____. Please contact ____ with any questions.
3. The “he never makes mistakes” OOO
On maternity leave. I’ll be back with more time management skills, multi-tasking abilities, ways to diffuse tense situations, and negotiation techniques.
4. “Sleeplessness is real” OOO
I currently wake up at 12 am, 2 am, 4 am, and 6 am. Hopefully I’ll get more sleep here when I get back to the office. See you [too] soon! In the meantime, please contact my colleague _____ for support.
5. The “solid boundaries” OOO
I will leave the office from __ to __. I will not be responding to emails during this time as I will be adjusting, physically and mentally, to life with a newborn. I look forward to speaking with you when I return. Please contact ____ while I am away.
Eventually, setting boundaries at this time is very important. Learning to care for a newborn (and yourself) can feel challenging postpartum, and it takes some time to adjust, settle into a new routine, and gain confidence in life after birth.
If possible, the last thing you need to think about is work. Any time you can spend completely disconnected helps.
Return to work after maternity leave
When you turn off your maternity leave out of the office and get back to your emails, there can be some mixed emotions.
Some are excited to return to the office. This is a part of us that we often overlook and forget in the early days of the newborn. Some are eager to return and reconsider their careers.
It is believed that 10% of mothers who work outside the home don’t come back to work and choose to stay at home, and many change their hours to part-time. Some moms plan to stay at home and decide they want to get out of the housethat they need that part of themselves again.
One thing that many new mothers navigating life after maternity leave have in common is the feeling offense. Offense of leaving home, offense of not coming to work. We moms give too much to ourselves and should never – ever! – feel guilty about our decision, whatever it is.
Our babies need our love, regardless of our employment status.
Add this to your OOO: the need for paid maternity leave
Whether a mother works at home or works outside the house, all mothers work. They need support regardless of their title, and there are many ways that partners, friends, and family can support mothers. Gift a cleaning service, bring food, plan a moms night out. All of this can make a big difference.
Even mothers bear the weight of the “invisible load.” It’s the little things that go quietly, like scheduling appointments, buying clothes in the next size up, stopping by for a birthday card, thinking about our children’s milestones, and answering that email to the school.
There are so many moving parts to keeping a household together, and usuallymom makes everything work.
In other words, moms need a break.
Especially during one of the most difficult parts of motherhood, the postpartum period. Check out the following statistics by Velocity Global.
Bulgaria offers 58.6 weeks (about one year and 1.5 months) of vacation at 90% salary. It’s been more than a year.
Canada offers 50 weeks (about 11 and a half months) at 55% salary, and Croatia provides 30 weeks (about seven months) at 100% salary. That’s incredible.
The The UK offers 39 weeks (about nine months) at 90% salary.
Sweden offers 39 weeks (about nine months) of paternity leave at 90% salary. Imagine being at home with our new babies and partners for the long haul, not worrying about finances or losing your job.
Also the The US provides fewer maternity leave protections than any other industrialized country.” Certain states offer up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave (Oregon pays 100%), but we have a long way to go.
Thoughts on maternity leave are closed
The united state more needs to be done to support parents, especially mothers. Moms shouldn’t have to struggle when we’re not ready to leave our babies and our bodies are still healing.
If you stop and think about it, this support can start with an honest and engaging message outside the office when your vacation begins.
We shouldn’t worry about choosing between our newborn and our jobs, it is possible that they will disappear if we do not return. Let’s continue the conversation about maternity leave. this is an important one and may change dramatically for us.
