02/13/2025
Are you a professional woman that has recently transitioned back into the workplace after experiencing a traumatic injury or loss? Let me share some of the challenges I faced and let me know if you have faced any of this?
🧠 After my Brain injury, I had to balance the desire to return to work and have a regular routine, with my need to continue my healing.
🏔️ I had to face the anxiety, fear and self-doubt along with my concerns about meeting job expectations and handling my previous workload. This added additional stress to my return-to-work process.
😭 I had been working through the grief of the injury and coming to terms and accepting the Cheryl 2.0 version of myself, knowing that this was my new reality, but I was unsure how the new version would be accepted and how I was going to be able to cope once I was back in the workplace. People often don’t recognize the grief that goes along with a life changing injury such as this. Believe me, it was and is, a thing.
💸 In top of that, I was dealing with the financial strain of being on 35% of my income for the year and a half that I was off work. I had some catching up to do, especially with the high cost of vision therapy and other supports I was paying for every week.
Now. let me share some strategies that I used, (and continue to use), and teach other professional women dealing with their return to the workplace:
☑️ ⏳ One of the keys was having open communication with my boss and peers about my readiness and setting expectations along with regular check-ins to monitor my progress. Being able to start back on a gradual re-entry with reduced hours was also very helpful in order to monitor and measure my progress.
☑️💡 I leveraged available resources, including occupational health services, counseling, and peer support groups, to address both emotional and practical challenges.
☑️🏊♀️ I incorporated practices such as mindfulness, regular exercise, and adequate rest to manage stress and promote overall well-being during the transition.
💎 Embarking on the journey back to work after a traumatic event is deeply personal and varies for each individual. By acknowledging the challenges and proactively implementing supportive strategies, women can facilitate a smoother transition, paving the way for renewed professional fulfillment and personal growth.
💼 Whether it is a physical injury, medical issue, personal loss, or any other of the many trauma’s professional women face, I help you reclaim your career and confidence through tailored strategies, I empower you to navigate workplace reintegration with resilience, clarity, and self-assurance.
❓ If you have any questions, please message me and let's connect.
