There's a fear a lot of people carry back to work with them after parental leave: that stepping away, even for a while, costs them ground they won't get back. Lucie Pazderská has been on the other side of that fear, and her experience says otherwise, career momentum doesn't have to disappear during parental leave, it can just take a different shape for a while.
We talked to Lucie about the small, deliberate steps that got her back into brand marketing, what actually made the return harder than the work itself, and why she doesn't think parental leave has to mean putting a career on hold.
Lucie Pazderská started at Prazdroj as an intern. Over time, she worked across a broad portfolio of brands, including Birell, Pilsner Urquell, Kozel and Frisco, before becoming a Senior Brand Manager. A role many people would see as a career goal in itself. Then came a period when the next career milestone was no longer the priority. Instead, the focus shifted to finding a way to combine work and family life. Rather than making one big return after parental leave, she chose a series of smaller steps. And those steps opened up new opportunities. What were they?
Not at all. I only knew that I didn’t want to start doing something just for the sake of working. I was looking for projects that would let me stay flexible while also learning something new. I wanted to feel that the work was helping me grow professionally, and that I’d be able to use the experience later on as well.
Honestly, it probably wasn’t the work itself. What surprised me most was the constant switching between work mode and parent mode. Imagine this: your child falls asleep, you have two hours to work, and you’re trying to get into the flow. Just as you finally get fully focused, they wake up, and you have to switch back again. For me, that was often more demanding than the work itself.
Taking it step by step. I didn’t jump straight back into a full-time role. I started with project-based work on a flexible agreement and gradually tested what worked for me, for the children and for the whole family. That helped me set up childcare and understand how much work I could realistically take on at different stages of life.
Then, once I had tried out the new rhythm and roles, I gradually took on more projects and increased my workload. Support from Prazdroj also helped! For example, the nursery contribution. But what mattered most was the attitude of my colleagues. If we needed to move a meeting online, it wasn’t a problem. And no one made a big deal out of the fact that my son occasionally joined a meeting with me. That kind of flexibility was really important for me during the transition back.
Exactly. When the opportunity came up to work with the Commercial Excellence team (note: Trade Marketing) I decided to go for it. I saw it as a great chance to broaden my horizons during maternity leave and get to know the company from a different angle. I wanted to understand more about what happens beyond marketing and build a broader view of the business. I felt that would make me a more well-rounded marketer.
So for me, it wasn’t a classic career move or a promotion. It was more of a conscious investment in my own development. I believe that experience from different parts of the business helps you see the bigger picture — and that’s something I really value in my work today.
I came back as a part-time Senior Brand Manager for Radegast. What made it interesting was that two of us shared the role. We each had our own areas, projects and people we were responsible for, while naturally working together on some things too. You might think it would be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, but having two experienced perspectives actually made many of our discussions and decisions better. For me, it was also a way to return to a role I really enjoy while still making it work with family life.
Sometimes your career speeds up, sometimes it slows down, and sometimes it takes a slightly different path than you expected. And I think that’s completely okay. Different things work for different people, and everyone needs to find their own way of making parenthood and work fit together.
For me, the most important thing is finding a routine and a balance between work and personal life that allows you to feel good about both. It doesn’t have to be a perfect balance, and it can naturally change at different stages of life. What matters is recognising what works for you at that moment and not being afraid to adapt your career path around it.
So I don’t think parental leave has to mean putting your career on hold. It can simply be a different stage of it - and one that may even give you a fresh perspective.
That amazing interview left you with plenty to think about. Prefer to listen? Catch Lucie's video interview, Building a Career Around Life: Lucie's Role as Senior Brand Manager at Prazdroj.
