AGSM @ UNSW Business School are accepting final applications for its Career Comeback Sponsorship program. The initiative targets professionals returning from a career break and those in part-time or hybrid roles seeking full-time positions.
Successful recipients will attend a two-day AGSM short course ‘The Authentic Communicator: Activating Presence’ from February 12 to 13 2024, held in Sydney and will gain access to AGSM’s leadership resources and events. The application deadline has been extended and we encourage you to apply now for this opportunity.
Returning to work after taking extended time off can be truly daunting. In the digital age we live in, systems and processes change daily, workplaces adapt and roles shift.
It’s inevitable then, that workers may feel underprepared and out of depth upon their return from a career break.
Since the majority of workers taking time off are women, for various reasons, the female workforce in Australia face several challenges throughout their career trajectory, including skill deficits, a ‘part-time promotions cliff’ and overall lack of confidence.
Tracey Flynn is the Director of Executive Education at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the University of NSW (UNSW). She is heading an annual program aimed at addressing these issues.
“It’s a very challenging business environment and quite a complex one,” Flynn says.
“If you have taken a career break, it can be challenging to understand what that (work) ecosystem looks like now. It can be a little bit daunting for some people.
“Having skills to be able to adapt and acknowledge those changes are helpful.”
The ‘yes’ woman
People take career breaks for several reasons – health issues, relocation, travel, carer responsibilities and, one of the most common reasons, parental leave.
No matter the reason, it’s mainly women who are taking time off. A survey from Hays found while 29 per cent of male workers in Australia and New Zealand reported having taken a career break, 64 per cent of female workers reported the same.
Although it’s not the sole reason, parental leave is certainly the main reason women take career breaks. According to the 2023 Women’s Ambition Report, conducted by Women’s Agenda, 40 per cent of women who responded to the survey had taken a career break for childcare commitments in the past ten years.
Tracey Flynn from AGSM says career breaks, without the right support, can interfere with the trajectory of a person’s career, and since it’s largely women taking time off, the skill deficits that come from career breaks impact female workers the most.
“The pace at which organisations and businesses are evolving, particularly around things like technology and processes and systems are ever-changing,” Flynn says.
“It really does affect women because there’s a lot going on, especially when you take a career break to have a family.”
Although 43 per cent of respondents to the 2023 Women’s Ambition survey said they are “more ambitious than ever before”, 32 per cent also said they lack confidence in balancing work and other responsibilities.
“Sometimes, there’s a lack of confidence because you’re not as familiar with what the new environment might look like,” Flynn says.
“There’s also having to juggle family and work.”
Through her work, Flynn has also noticed women who return to work after a career break often “overcompensate” at work, like taking on extra tasks, to make up for their “time off”.
“There’s a sense of needing to exert extra effort to compensate for the fact that they also have other responsibilities,” Flynn says.
“It can get quite overwhelming, and women tend to be a bit tough on themselves. Sometimes, they aim to demonstrate their ability to accomplish amazing things, which they certainly can. However, it seems they are being overly harsh on themselves instead of showing kindness.”
Support at work
Without the right support in place, a female employee’s return to work can be met with a range of challenges, including a loss of skills, a ‘part-time promotions cliff’ and lack of confidence.
Women’s Agenda’s 2023 Women’s Ambition Report found 16 per cent said their work arrangements are hindering their ability to get promoted. Meanwhile, 27 per cent say a lack of visibility to their team is hindering their career, and 37 per cent say it’s a lack of visibility to upper management.
Flynn says workplaces need to be more supportive for people, particularly women, returning to work after an extended leave.
“I think having an organisation that’s empathetic is important,” she says, “and there are a lot of amazing organisations in Australia and around the world that have great systems and processes and opportunities for women to come back easily.”
While workplaces have the responsibility to make their return as comfortable as possible, it’s important to ensure that individuals also have the confidence to pick up where they left off.
One of the ways to do so, Flynn says, is through “authentic communication”.
“Authentic communication is really about using communication as a tool to ensure that you can share the messages that you need to pass on,” she says.
“But also in turn that you are a deep listener that you are taking in the information that you’re receiving and then thinking about what you need or want to say in order to communicate your message.
“It allows people to be a lot more confident and communicate on their feet, to think about how they project their voice, and how they can ensure that they are designing their messages to suit the audience.”
In Women’s Agenda’s research, more than half of respondents (57 per cent) said communication was one of their top skills for their present and future careers, while 46 per cent said empathy was their top skill.
The idea of “authentic communication” shapes this year’s Career Comeback Sponsorship Program, run by AGSM and UNSW. It’s a two-day program involving workshops, speeches, networking and more to assist people returning from a career break.
“This program gives a lot of skills for people to be able to work through some of those challenges and not feel so overwhelmed or self-conscious when they’re communicating,” Flynn says.
Above all, though, Flynn’s main suggestion for people making a career comeback is to be kind to themselves.
“Be kind to yourself. It’s a big step. There’s a lot going on typically when you do come back from a career break,” she says.
“It’s important to take things slowly and to be open and honest with yourself and the people you’re working with.”
The Career Comeback Sponsorship will be held on 12-13 February 2024. Applications for the program close on 1 December 2023.