Maternity leave survey

How well docompaniesprepare formaternity leave?

From announcing a pregnancy to returning to work, I’m exploring how maternity leave is experienced by employees and supported by their organisations.

Two perspectives, one transition. The aim is to understand what works, what doesn’t, and where better support might make a difference.

Whether you’ve experienced maternity leave yourself or helped organise it as a manager or HR professional, your perspective matters.

I’ve experienced maternity leaveOr I’m on it, or preparing for it I organise or support itHR, People, manager or executive
Take the surveyAbout 5 minutesPrefer a conversation? Book a 30-minute chat

A research project by Claire Connor. Why this survey

The survey

The themes are shared by employees and employers, but the paths are independent: no answer is matched with anyone else’s from the same company.

By gathering perspectives from both employees and employers, I hope to better understand where experiences align, where they differ, and what could make maternity transitions easier to navigate.

Confidential, for this research only. Learn more

You are answering as…

Answer for yourself, thinking of your most recent leave. The questions adapt to your situation.

1Your situation

Where are you now?
Size of your company

2Before the leave

Who actually organised your handover? Select all that apply

5Looking back

Did your company offer you any support? For example a preparation meeting, coaching or a return plan
Which of these types of support, if any, might have been useful to you? Select all that apply

In your own words Optional

A few words or more, as you like. Please don’t name companies or colleagues, or include medical or confidential information.

Answer for your organisation, based on what you generally see.

1Your context

Your role
Company size
How many maternity leaves in the last 12 months?

2Before the leave

Do you have a process for preparing the practical side of maternity leave? Handover, work allocation, beyond HR policy or legal requirements
Who actually organises the handover, usually? Select all that apply
Who has overall responsibility for making sure the handover is completed? Optional

3During the absence

How is the workload covered during the absence? Select all that apply

4The return

Overall, how well do you feel your organisation supports employees returning from maternity leave?

5Looking ahead

Which of these types of support, if any, might be useful? Select all that apply
Has your organisation ever used external support on this topic? Coaching, consulting, a specialist maternity transition programme or another external service

In your own words Optional

A few words or more, as you like. Please don’t name companies or colleagues, or include medical or confidential information.

Want to see the findings?You can opt in to receive a summary of the results. These two choices are separate and optional.

Your email is only used for these messages. It makes your response identifiable to me; you can ask for it to be deleted at any time.

Why this survey

I’ve been through two maternity leaves, both in fast-paced, high-growth companies. After the second, I took on a Chief Revenue Officer role on the executive committee of a tech scale-up.

Those two experiences showed me how different the transition into and out of maternity leave can be, both personally and professionally.

They also raised questions about how companies prepare for an employee’s departure, manage responsibilities during their absence, and support their return.

I’m now exploring a project around maternity leave support. Before deciding what to build, I want to understand what employees, HR teams and managers actually experience, rather than rely on my own assumptions.

That’s the purpose of this research.

Claire

Three moments the survey explores.

Scroll to see them.

The team’s workThe employee

Before

How the departure is prepared, and who organises the handover.

During

Who carries the load, and what contact is kept with her.

After

How the return goes, and what happens to careers.

What your answers are used for

  • Research. I read every answer myself, to understand what really happens around maternity leave.
  • A summary of the results, if you’re interested. It will be made available at the end of the research: tick the box at the end of the survey to receive it.
  • No name or email needed. An email is only used to send you the results or get back in touch. I’m the only one who sees it, and it never appears in the results.
  • Never sold or shared.
  • A question, or want your answers deleted? Write to claire.connor.weill@gmail.com.

Full privacy policy

Rather talk it through?

Thirty minutes to tell me how maternity leave works in your company. What you share stays confidential.

Pick a time