Telling My Workplace That I’m Pregnant

After it first settled in that I was pregnant, I realised that I was going to have to tell work that I was up le duff. Not only that, it all of a sudden dawned on me that I would be away from work for 9 whole months. I mean, I’ve never taken more than two weeks annual leave before. The thought of 9 months off both excited me and terrified me. But before any of that happened, I needed to sit down and tell work. For some reason, I blew this up massively in my mind and it gave me anxiety for weeks. So if anybody is going through the same thing, I wanted to share how it happened and what the plan is…

 

 

How long I waited.

In my company handbook, it clearly states that as soon as you find out you’re pregnant, you need to share it with senior management. I understand that it is so they can put plans in place and think about cover, etc. with a good amount of time. However, for a long time I was scared to say the word ‘pregnant’, out loud in case I jinxed everything and it all came crumbling down. So, I waited until the 8 week mark to inform them, but they were under strict instruction for it not to go any further from the senior management team. It was a little later then they would have liked, but they understood why.

 

Why I was so nervous.

I was nervous to tell my workplace I was pregnant for two reasons. The first is my control freak nature, as I mentioned above. At work, I run a small team and as part of that, I have to roll my sleeves up and get stuck into the work. I couldn’t work out how things would run without me. That isn’t me being big headed, it’s the truth.

But at the same time I was nervous that they would bring in somebody temporary. Then that person might come in and mess up everything that I had planned and already achieved.

But also, because I didn’t know how the company would take the news. I was the first person to get pregnant here in almost a decade. I stressed about if they would look to replace me, how they would manage the lack of ‘me’ and if they would pay me more than statuary as was company policy!

 

What my plan is with work.

Because of my control issues and my OCD, the thought of leaving work for a long period of time was scary to me. Especially given that I run a tight ship with limited resource. So, I suggested that instead of being off, I work part time. But in a much more flexible nature than standard part time. That I would do a certain amount of hours per week, but my stipulation was that I can do those hours when I want. Also that I am not on call. They cannot ring me for small things and I need notice of larger projects. That way I could still remain on control, earn more money than statuary and fit it in around my baby.

 

What we had agreed.

When it came down to it, my workplace didn’t accept everything that I asked for. Their only qualm was that they didn’t think I had allowed myself enough time off. Instead, I agreed to do three full months off (mainly because I could forward plan work to cover a three month period) and then I would phase back to work with a few days working from home over the weeks. After another few months, I would then spend time in the office a couple times per week or come in for meetings. Then I would essentially be back on a part time basis until the end of my maternity leave when I was back as normal at the end of 9 months.

 

What my plan is with my additional work.

By additional work, I am thinking about my site and my freelance writing. When it comes to this, it is all about time management and planning. For my site, I can try and get posts queued for a couple of weeks, if not months. However, with my freelance venture, I am issuing an official maternity notice. I at least want three full months off and then I will accept new work on an ad hoc basis, as long as the expected times are flexible and I can work easily with my baby,

 

As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this post about how I told my workplace that I was pregnant. I really don’t understand why I was worried. They are incredibly supportive and everything they are now doing, and planning has me in mind. There is a massive part of me that is petrified of having to let go of the reigns and control for something that I have so closely managed for years. But I also understand that once the baby is here I will be so occupied that I wont have time to fret about work. I would love to hear from you guys about this below in the comments. How did you tell your workplace? How did they take the news?