Comeback Coach Jessica Chivers

This short “JUST JESSICA EPISODE” is about managing rumination, how to keep healthy habits going when you’re consumed by work and the psychology of mindful meditation. It’s inspired by a particular coaching conversation I had one Tuesday a few weeks ago. I put these episodes together myself without the lovely Chris cleaning up bumps in the sound or adding in the swanky intro and outro and I hope you get something from it. If you do I’d love it if you shared it with someone else who you think might like it too.

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The meditation mantras I mentioned in this episode:
Hummee Hum – The Other is you by Mirabai Cieba (12 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CFI0hslXv8
Ramadasa by Satkirin Kaur Khalsa (12 mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVewRvqNrE

The article I mentioned about meditation and the DMN on the Mindfulness Association’s website: https://www.mindfulnessassociation.net/science-of-mindfulness/meditation-and-the-default-mode-network/ 
MORE FOR YOU
DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, this is a very different episode to anything I’ve done before. Brian is a chap whose energy, openness and actions around supporting fathers I’ve admired on LinkedIn for quite some time. Throughout the time Brian and I have been in each others’ orbits he’s worked for Amazon as a Program Manager in Luxembourg, whilst also training to be a coach. In June last year (2023) I spotted a very candid post from Brian about expecting to be made redundant so I got in touch to offer my condolences and to tell him how much I liked reading what he was writing about what he was anticipating and we started swapping voice notes. I do love a voice note!


I asked Brian whether he’d be up for coming on the podcast later in the year when he’d made his comeback and then a thought occurred to me: why don’t we document, through voice notes, what’s happening for Brian on the run up to redundancy and what happens next. I do all of this with you in mind dear listener – I’m constantly thinking about how I can bring you ideas, insights and tips to make your comeback smoother, easier and more enjoyable. I’m also always wanting to bring you the hard stuff that people are going through and the emotions they’re experiencing as a way to give you hope when you’re going through similar struggles. 

At the end of the episode you’re also going to hear from Dr Madeline Stevens who is the author of Strategic Redundancy Implementation: Re-Focus, Re-Organise and Re-Build. She knows a lot about how to help people through redundancy.
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MORE FOR YOU
DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is Michaela Thomas, a clinical psychologist I’ve been really looking forward to chatting to because we’ve been batting voice notes back and forth for about a year and then I heard Michaela on a podcast I’ve been lapping up over the last 9 months (Kate Moryousef's ADHD WOMEN'S WELLBEING)  that was the galvanising stroke to get Michaela on. 
I originally wanted to have a chat with Michaela about how to keep partner/spousal relationships feeling good once you have a baby and go back to work and the pressure ramps up drawing upon her own lived experience as well as her professional insight. She’s the author of a book called The Lasting Connection – which is about developing compassion for yourself and your partner - and has a podcast called Pause Purpose Play. I’ve since learned that Michaela also has a special interest in perfectionism and she has an ADHD brain and is starting to do more work in that area too. Given my recent diagnosis of ADHD and our growing interest in neurodiversity as a coaching team my mind I thought wow, let’s get Michaela on to talk about her return to work and all of these things. So, you have an extra long episode today because there’s so much I wanted to chat to her about. 
If you like what you hear from Michaela then you can find her on Instagram @the_thomas_connection and Facebook @TheThomasConnection.

**Michaela is going to be joining me on Tuesday 21st May 2024 12 NOON for a live Q&A on HOW TO LIVE & WORK WELL WITH AN ANXIOUS MIND AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES. The Q&A is part of the Comeback Community employee experience programme and once our clients have had first dibs we open spare spots to all absolutely free**. 
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MORE FOR YOU
DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is Lianne Baker, Head of People & Culture at Enfuse who had surprise baby number three last year and we caught up at the end of her five month maternity leave. Lianne is an award-winning People professional with over 15 years’ experience working within TV for Endemol, publishing for Condé Nast, recruitment, hospitality and now for Enfuse, a digital transformation management consultancy. Since joining Enfuse Group, she has been focused on culture and engagement, bringing in forward thinking and inclusive policies. Enfuse Group is recognised as a Great Place to Work, Top 5 Best Companies and best new Management Consultancy at the MCA Awards. 
Lianne has previously spoken up about the importance of flexible working to enable parents to parent as well as have a career in addition to writing various articles of managing IVF and Fertility treatment alongside work. 
You’re going to hear about:
How to have smooth harmonious relationships with family members who care for your children.Wanting to work during maternity leave and how to communicate that to your team.Tips for returning to a new role and/or a new organisation after a period of extended leave.Owning your decisions and tuning into what’s right for you and your family.Knowing your worth and feeling good at work.And as always the wobbliest moment and peak moment of my guest’s return to work experience.MORE FOR YOU
DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is Ros Kwok, a woman I was introduced to after asking one of the wonderful Partners at our past podcast sponsor, Rayden Solicitors if she had a client who had had to return to work due to a change in financial circumstances following divorce. Thank you Emily Watson for coming up trumps in less than 24 hours! And you’ll also hear from Emily at the end of the episode where we talk through several questions about divorce, spousal maintenance and arbitration.

**LINK TO "MOTHERS WALK" on 8/3/24 for International Women's Day**
Ros is originally from Singapore and came to study in the UK. She became a stay at home mum after she had children and when her youngest went to nursery she took a part time job in a nursery and after four years became a freelance photographer. When the divorce happened she was told to get a proper job, was forced to sell all of her photography equipment and then made 50 applications for jobs, and got only one interview. That interview was with John Lewis – I love JLP sooooo much – but even that didn’t work out. Fast forward to today and Ros IS working for John Lewis and she’s worked her way from an entry level role to being a fashion merchandiser and instagmmer for JLP. 
Today Ros is thriving and this episode talks about how she got there. I think many employers are recognising just how destabilising any big life can be for their people and divorce is right up there. If you’re going through divorce or it’s on your mind I’m sending you all the love because I know how hellish it can be. I’m a child of divorced parents and I have people around me going through divorce at the moment. To you all I send love and hope, more of which at the end of the episode.
MORE FOR YOU
DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film

Hello Bright Minds, my guest today is Andrea Byrne, one of the faces of ITV News and a past coachee of mine.  She anchors the BAFTA award-winning daily news programme Wales at Six, as well as ITV’s national bulletins. This includes ITV Weekend News, Lunchtime News, Evening News and News at Ten and Prince Harry is among the many high-profile names she has interviewed.
Andrea also presents the current affairs programme Wales This Week; hosts her own fertility podcast ‘Making Babies’; and is a Tedx speaker. She has recently been nominated for several broadcast awards for her documentary work.
She is an ambassador for ‘The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme’ and a Non-Executive Director for Hockey Wales. Andrea is married to Wales and Lions legend Lee Byrne.  She is passionate about wellbeing and pioneered the introduction of Mental Health First Aiders in ITV’s newsrooms.

Away from the newsroom, she is a keen yogi, a novice stand-up paddle-boarder and a budding novelist!

In this conversation with Andrea you’re going to hear about:
Remembering how good you are at your job before you start back.Why it’s a good idea not to expect too much of yourself when you first return to work.It not being selfish or wrong to want to have time to yourself or not liking every moment of parenthood even when your child was very hard ‘won’ as Andrea’s daughter Jemima was.Pitching to be involved in projects and activities that are outside of your role.The time it takes to adjust to working parenthood.And a few random bits about the psychology of perfume and what wearing stretchy clothing does to our minds.We do also talk about baby loss and miscarriage towards the end where Andrea shares something harrowing that happened to her when she was about to do a very significant day of broadcasting.And as always you’ll get to hear the wobbliest moment and peak moment of my guest’s return to work experience as well as her three top tips for returning to work after a break.MORE FOR YOU
DM Jessica on instagram @comebackcommuk Join a free expert 'Comeback Conversation' Q&A event Read Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work by Jessica Chivers. Watch five coachees talk about working with us Tell your HR team about Comeback Community with this 1 minute explainer film