Women returning to work: what can we learn from mothers’ stories about 'keeping in touch days' during maternity leave? A narrative inquiry to aid the development of relevant psychotherapeutic approaches

This research is set within the wider context of mothers who also work and focuses on six mothers who have returned to work using Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days. KIT Days were introduced by the United Kingdom Government in 2006 as a way for women to return to work following their maternity and they are optional for both the company and the mother (United Kingdom Government, 2006c). Both parties must agree to them in advance of their use.

Pilot doctoral research conducted by Hampson (2021) indicated that the KIT Days were not delivering the intended benefits to the returnees. Informed by this study, the current research employs a Narrative Inquiry methodology, through interviews and follow-up interviews with six participants. The interviewees include three first-time mothers and three mothers with more than one child. All were in heterosexual relationships at the time of the KIT Days. One participant is Black British, another Mediterranean and there are four White British mothers.

In comparing the women’s stories, the results differentiated the use of the KIT Days, compared the experiences of the women and considered the similarities. KIT Day usage ranged from an employer assuming it to be an early return to their job, one employer allocating a difficult project and even an employer declaring that a mother’s role had changed so significantly, that it precipitated a job search on that mother’s first KIT Day. Four predominant themes arose from the research, relating to ‘Emotions’, ‘Support’, ‘Change’ and ‘Self-identity’.

A resulting product of this research is a survey of mothers’ experiences of KIT Days that will be used, and continue to be refined, in commercial and private practice environments. The survey has already been tested (with 117 responses), having leveraged the Narrative Inquiry research insights in its creation. In the future, tailored versions of the survey can be produced at a company level and become a publicly available product, for mothers, companies and therapists, to aid the psychological readiness of mothers to re-enter the workplace.