Most organizations don’t have an employee reintegration plan set in place, leaving it to their staff who return to work after an extended leave break to settle in on their own. Many workers do it without a hitch, but more often than not, there’s a lot of catching up to do, and the process can slow things down for the team as a whole. Whether an employee is returning from maternity leave or a fulfilling sabbatical, helping workers transition back into their teams smoothly can ensure their reintegration happens with ease.
If you’ve ever taken a vacation from work, even if the break only lasted a few days, the return to work after taking leave can be jarring. The organization doesn’t stop while you’re away, and a flooded email inbox is often the least of your worries, with tasks piled up on your desk, waiting for you to finish the work that has been waiting, as well as those that are brought to you on your return. For employees who have been away for a week or more, this is especially disconcerting.
Without an efficient reintegration policy, employees not only have to mentally switch back into work mode, but also contend with an overwhelming amount of work, undoing any of the benefits of being on a break in the first place. When employers create a well-defined plan of action to help employees step back into their roles smoothly, it makes it much easier for the workers to catch up with every decision and change that was made in their absence and get back to being productive again.
Do you have a plan in place for when an employee returns to work after an extended break? Let’s look at a few employee reintegration strategies. (Image: Pexels)
How to Help with an Employee’s Return to Work After an Extended Leave: Tips and Tricks to Get It Right
Laws and company policies regulate how and when employees get to go on leave, but what happens when they return? Missed updates, benchmarks, changes, and exchanges don’t make themselves known to their employees, leaving them both scatterbrained and unable to keep up with colleagues, despite next to no changes in their ability to perform the job itself. Employees who have bigger workloads than ever might start rushing through their work, allowing an error of two to slip through. Others might overwork themselves and grow more weary. This is where a policy designed specifically for the return period is essential.
There is no single right way to make such a policy. Employers can coordinate with their HR teams to address each employee’s return on a case-by-case basis, or they can set a specific guideline in place for employees to follow. The best approach is to use a combination of both options, allowing the pre-set guidelines to assist returning employees and their teams, with the one-on-one conversation helping to make adjustments to the plan for their specific situation.
We have a few suggestions on how best to get started with planning out policy on employee reintegration.
The Best Place to Start Planning for a Return Is Before the Employees Go on Leave
When employers learn that an employee is set to take an extended leave of absence, it is best to start planning for the management of their job in advance. The work that can be performed by other employees should be divided up accordingly, ensuring no one person is overburdened. Work emails can similarly be rerouted to another employee to ensure that urgent communication can be addressed.
Deadlines and submissions can also be adjusted to accommodate their return. Such planning ensures that employees don’t return to unrealistic workloads and that the rest of the team doesn’t have to wait for them for the work to proceed.
Established a Point of Contact For All the Updates
An employee cannot return and immediately comply with a change in policy if they never learned that changes were made in the first. Having a clear point of contact, whether the manager or another colleague, can help employees set up a meeting to discuss all the relevant changes during their absence with them. Establishing this point of contact beforehand also gives the manager or the employee in charge an opportunity to maintain a record of the data they think will be important to share.
Communicate with the Employee on Their Return
Acknowledging an employee’s time away and asking how they’re doing on their return is basic practice. This is particularly true for employees who are returning after maternity or medical leave, but it can be beneficial for all workers who may be nervous about their first day back. To be greeted by a smiling face and questions about how they can be supported for the next few days is an offer that most will appreciate.
This is where employers may be discussing any necessary adjustments as well. Employers or HR reps can enquire about whether the employee would like a meeting with the whole team to go over all the progress made on a tricky project, or if they need additional accommodations such as more frequent breaks, pumping stations for breastfeeding mothers, or other assistance that could make their return more comfortable.
Refamiliarize Employees with the Benefits and Support Tools Available
Employees may benefit from joining an employee resource group or accessing an employee assistance program on their return, which could help them adjust to their new situation, for example, to connect with other working parents or rebuild community connections with someone who shares a specific area of interest. Informing employees of the resources at their disposal is a key part of employee reintegration, allowing them to feel like a part of the workplace as a whole.
Lead with Empathy When an Employee Returns to Work After Their Leave
Rather than throwing the employee back into work full-force, it’s best to lead with empathy and ease them into their tasks slowly. Give employees time to make adjustments, go over what happened in their absence, and then get started with their tasks. This ensures that the transition is a smooth one, without any hiccups.
Create a Positive Culture Around Leave Policies
Having a generous leave policy without a clear-cut reintegration plan is shortsighted, particularly when your organization’s culture isn’t supportive of leaves. Many employees avoid using their PTO days in fear that they will be judged by colleagues, and this is a distinct possibility when employees return after a long break and no longer fit in, the inside jokes and the changes that occurred while they were away causing them to feel excluded. To make matters worse, a company culture that looks down on breaks will only make it harder for them to step back into their role with ease.
Employee reintegration does not end with ensuring they can manage their workloads sufficiently. Regardless of the employee’s reasons for their extended leave of absence, organizations must prioritize building a healthy relationship with their workforce and their desire to step away from their desks once in a while, whether for voluntary reasons or unavoidable ones.
What has been the most helpful support tool on your return to work after an extended leave? Share them with us in the comments. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.
