Going back after a long leave
Parental leave, illness, caring for a parent: what helps in the first month back, and what to agree before you return.
Returning after six months or more away is its own kind of career change. The job may be the same; you probably are not.
Before the first day
Agree your hours, your first projects and a date to review both. Put it in an email. Vague agreements tend to drift back to how things were.
The first month
Expect to feel slow. Pick one piece of work you can finish in the first two weeks, so there is something done to point to. Keep a short list of what has changed while you were away.
The review
At the agreed date, look at the list again. If the role no longer fits, that is useful to know early, and it is a conversation to have with facts in hand.