In the week of International Women’s Day we are sharing the stories of just some of our colleagues who inspire us. Jo Judge recounts her experiences of maternity leave, nurturing a young baby and returning to work during the pandemic.

At work, I’m busy being the director in charge of the residential development sales team in Savills Guildford office and chairing the division’s next generation board. 

Away from work, I’m delighted to be running around after my two-year-old little girl. Sometimes finding the right work/life balance can be a challenge but I am very organised. I plan everything the night before so my day starts well, or at least that’s the intention. You need to set boundaries and share the load. 

I’ve been asked what my greatest achievements are. For work it was qualifying as a chartered surveyor last year. In my personal life, it’s my daughter – after eight miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy she is a little miracle.

The fact that she’s two tells you that my maternity leave and return to work were set against the background of lockdown. The first lockdown was the hardest as our baby couldn’t socialise with anyone except me and my husband, home visits from healthcare workers just stopped and, with little guidance on how Covid could affect a new-born, it was a worrying time – as it was for everyone.

Once restrictions were eased we had to work hard to introduce her to members of the family and busy environments which she found very difficult.

I returned to work when my daughter was nine months old, she attended nursery three times a week which was the best thing I could have done as she is now a very independent, sociable and outgoing little girl. My return coincided with another lockdown though, and I found that really tough as I was looking forward to the social aspect of being back in the office and having all those natural conversations. What’s more, I had never used Microsoft Teams before and at the time my WIFI was terrible which made everything very stressful.

To anyone about to go on maternity leave I’d say it goes so quickly, so don’t be worrying about the ifs, buts and maybes. Enjoy every precious moment. I would also recommend speaking to your manager and agreeing what contact you want or expect while you are off. Some new parents want to switch off from work completely, but others can feel quite isolated and prefer to be kept in the loop. Either way, have a plan that’s right for you.

Going back to work can be overwhelming so it’s important to talk to other working parents, speak with your HR manager or perhaps look at getting a mentor.  And make sure you have a means of release – mine is running. It will be fine, your little one will benefit from whatever childcare plans you have decided to put in place and after two weeks of being back it will be like you were never away. It’s amazing how quickly we adapt.

Read more in our series of blogs for International Women's Day:

• You have to speak up to be heard
• How an International Women’s Day blog changed my working life
• Be realistic: don't set yourself up to fail
• Cancer treatment is hardly the career break anyone envisages
• Creating space for the women who come next
• Take ownership and never give up

Further information

Contact Jo Judge