August 2020 - World Breastfeeding Week
Here at Welsh Water, we are committed to creating a culture of mutual respect where everyone can be themselves at work and have equal opportunity to flourish. We believe in doing the right things for our customers, employees and the company. We are committed to promising equality, diversity and inclusivity and treating others with dignity and respect at all times.
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is a global campaign to raise awareness and galvanise action on themes related to breastfeeding. The 2020 theme is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet.”
Nkechi is one of our inclusivity ambassadors and takes the time here to share her experience of coming back to work after the birth of her child.
Here’s Nkechi’s story…
“I am a Commercial Analyst in the BIS Commercial team and have worked in Welsh Water since 2016. I support with several contracts in order to achieve competitive procurement of IT products and services.
As a first-time mother, returning to work after maternity leave can be exciting, overwhelming, confusing and bring on many more emotions. I was fortunate enough to have my mother with me for the first 6 months, so I took the ‘big step’ of returning to work after only 3 months. I was excited to go back to work and couldn’t wait to re-join adult conversation and have a routine. There were (and still are) sleepless nights but I embraced this new phase as a new mother wholeheartedly. My life felt full and I surprised myself at how quickly I adjusted. I missed working outside the home (yes, it is a job) and the independence I felt it gave me.
At first, I was apprehensive about broaching the topic with my line manager for fear of being told that there was no policy as such. Findings from an NCT survey carried out in 2008, show that the attitudes and relationship between employee and line manager are pivotal in determining a smooth return to work . When I spoke to my manager about the subject, she was extremely supportive and advised that they could provide facilities for women who want to express milk at work or breastfeed in private. She fully endorsed my choice to express and urged me to take regular breaks for expressing.
It was relatively easy to put reasonable adjustments in place as I blocked out an hour each day for expressing. During that hour, I used the first aid room to which I was allowed access to daily. During that hour, I was ‘online’ so I chose to work at the same time. My manager had no concerns around my preference to work during that hour and always asked if I was comfortable enough or whether I felt like I needed more time.
My manager knows my ‘work-self’ best and supported me in a smooth return to work and with my decision to express at work. At this time, there is also a big emphasis on wellbeing, flexible working and mental health which my manager made sure that I always had access to the right advice and contact numbers.”
We have a health and safety policy for new and expectant mothers in place to assist managers and support our colleagues.