Long absences from work can happen for many reasons – such as maternity leave, long-term sickness, an accident, out of work, carers leave or career break – and it can be both daunting and challenging for the individual returning and the employer. We help to bridge the gaps between what is provided by companies and needed by individuals, to ensure a smooth transition back to work and successful reintegration into the workplace.
Instead of returnees being thrown in at the deep end and finding themselves overwhelmed, our return to work programme provides skilled workers with carefully tailored support and guidance to help them navigate their way back into work, rebuild confidence, increase self-care, adjust to new responsibilities and a work-focused routine, and regain balance and control in work and life.
How we enable individuals
We provide tailor made coaching programmes for individuals and groups to support them with:
- lack of confidence/low self esteem
- disconnection to their employer and what’s been going on
- heightened stress and anxiety
- feeling lost
- imposter syndrome
- concern regarding work-life balance
- limiting beliefs.
How we help businesses
We help companies enhance their culture and capability strategy through:
- retention of high performers
- working family agendas
- executive, career and performance coaching
- creating an inclusive culture.
It’s a win-win for both employee and employer
…the individual feels comfortable as soon as they return to work
and the company have a high-performing member of staff from the date of return.
Introducing the founder of Return to Work
Kirsteen Williamson-Guinn
I started my business as a transformational health and life coach, because as an experienced senior leader with 15 years at Director level in a large corporation, I had worked with many leaders who had returned to work after long-term absence and found themselves severely tested. I understood the challenges they were facing, the demands of home and work life conflicting and tearing them in two directions. The cycle of guilt, feeling like success in neither is being achieved.
This led me to see the intrinsic link between health and career. From personal experience, I understand how our health often gets overlooked, as we can so often be driven by our careers. It’s not unusual for individuals returning to work to feel like they are in debt to the company for their time off and not feeling able to ask for the support that would help them to thrive.
I have carried out extensive research into understanding what it is like returning to work after a long period of absence. The results surprised me. I found that there is sporadic provision of return to work initiatives in companies. For instance, there was very little contact between the employer and employee during the period of absence, creating anxiety about returning. This was particularly heightened when the business they were returning to was going through transformation or structural change.
Through the Return to Work programme I help individuals navigate and reintegrate their way back to work. We all perform better when we feel better, so health and wellbeing are at the core of my Return to Work programme. I ensure the individual has self-care rituals in place so that they feel good in their skin, that they have coping mechanisms for the challenges they face, and ultimately feel empowered and driven to operate at their most productive level – instead of taking time to return to the level they were at before they left. This is a ‘win-win’, because it provides an opportunity for the individual to feel comfortable the minute they return to the workplace, and the company have a high performing member of staff from the date of return.
These helpful survival tips will help to ease your transition and navigate your way back into the working world.
