New Company Policy That Should be Universal for Working Moms

For moms who work, easing back into the workforce can be challenging to say the least. That adorable baby takes time and energy, sleep is a commodity you can never seem to have enough of. When it's time to go back to the office, a 40-hour week is daunting. As a result, new moms struggle to get through, and as it turns out some choose to call it quits.

One company is recognizing this challenge. Vodafone has implemented a new policy that allows new moms to take 16 weeks paid maternity leave. That's great, but even better, for the first six months after maternity leave, full-time employees are allowed to work a 30-hour week while getting paid full-time salary. A schedule that overworks a new mom becomes a talent retention issue as well, and Vodafone recognized that 65 percent of women who opted to leave the company after maternity leave did so within the first year. Makes sense.

In a CNN report, the Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao is quoted as saying, "Too many talented women leave working life because they face a difficult choice between either caring for a newborn baby or maintaining their careers." Amen.

Women are valuable in the workforce, but we aren't robots. We want careers and families, too, and that's OK. Though moms sometimes seem to have super powers, we are only human and most of us aren't millionaires who can employee round-the-clock help to take care of a baby while we try to keep the wheels on track at work too. 

I hope more companies will follow suit with this type of transition plan for moms after maternity leave. Women are strong, but when supported we are stronger.