Who we are
Work Happy Mums is the go-to resource for ambitious women returners and career advancers.

The organisation was founded in 2013 by me, Melanie Fieseler, in response to my first-hand experience of the unique and difficult challenges many women face making the transition back to work post-baby, and successfully combining work and family to achieve their professional and personal goals once they get there. ​
  • Post-baby it's often hard for women to regain their confidence in their professional skills and abilities, and the value they have to offer. Their values, priorities and definition of success can radically change, and they struggle to figure out a career direction that's aligned with their new identity.
  • Once back at work, many women lack the necessary support to effectively manage their dual work and family roles, leaving them feeling unfulfilled and as though they are not doing well enough in either.
  • Meaningful part-time or flexible work opportunities remain scare, and many women working part-time are employed on low wages well below their potential, with little or no prospects for advancement.   
  • Work/life disconnection is common: Women want one arrangement, but often have to choose or are forced to settle for another due to factors such as the prohibitive cost of childcare. 
  • Unconscious bias, gender stereotyping and pregnancy discrimination remain rife. In the UK, up to 30,000 women are sacked each year simply for being pregnant, and each year an estimated 440,000 women loose out on pay or promotion as a result of pregnancy.
Our mission
Our guiding beliefs
What we do
Our team
At Work Happy Mums, our mission is to build a better future for working mothers and the companies and businesses they work for. 

​We do this by: 
​
1. providing the support women need to enable them to fulfil their potential and advance in both their professional and personal lives according to their own definition of success, and

2. helping businesses to recognise, tap into and unlock the valuable resource that is working women, becoming more diverse and equal organisations, and ultimately positively impacting their bottom line.
We are guided by two core beliefs:  

​1. Every woman should have the opportunity to advance in their career, and feel genuinely motivated, fulfilled and engaged, without having to sacrifice their lifestyle and family commitments. Career and family counts.

​2. Equality across the board, in the workplace and at home, benefits not only the economy but society in general.  Because when our children see their mothers confident, fulfilled, and successful, they see that as their right too. 
We strive to act as a catalyst for changing the way careers work to better support female talent, and help progressive companies and businesses of the future grow and thrive. 

We envisage a future where flexible work is the norm. Where women are given equal opportunities to men and the gender equality debate is a thing of the past. Where diverse teams are thriving and leading by example. Where life outside of work is valued and work-life integration is encouraged and supported.

​Our range of programmes for women focus on giving them the support they need to get clarity on what they really want from their career after having children, enhance their skills, rebuild their professional confidence and equip them with the mindset and strategies to successfully navigate career and family. Our ultimate aim is to empower women to get ahead and successfully achieve their professional and personal goals, feeling balanced and fulfilled both at work and at home. 

Our programmes for women include:
  • ​​Career change and transition coaching
  • Family-friendly job search consulting, including job search strategy, CV, cover letter and LinkedIn profile development, interview preparation and personal branding
  • Maternity (return-to-work) coaching​

​For employers, our programmes provide the information and resources needed to become an employer of choice for female talent, including creating and sustaining a family friendly workplace.

Programmes for employers include:
  • Consultancy to create and promote a more inclusive family-friendly workplace with policies, practices, and a culture that helps parents and carers combine a great career with their caring responsibilities
  • Maternity and paternity coaching
  • Training seminars and workshops covering each life stage and career transition point an employee will experience on their working parent journey
  • Manager 'education' workshops equipping managers with techniques and strategies that will help them to help working parents successfully manage their responsibilities at work and at home
  • Corporate membership to The WHM Club​
  • Speakers Bureau: We speak, present and moderate at forums where working parent and family-friendly policies are on the agenda
Our team of consultants, coaches and trainers are all professional women who are highly experienced in working with women returners and women in the workplace. They are all working mothers and have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the issues and challenges women face when making the transition back to work and setting themselves up for success at work and at home once they get there. 
​
Meet Melanie Fieseler
I am an independent career consultant specialising in career transition and change, organisational diversity and female talent management. I am a leading authority and speaker on issues relating to women returning to work after a career break and mothers in the workplace. ​

After relaunching my own career after becoming a mother. I am proud to have worked with hundreds of amazing women to help them through their career transitions and relaunches, and use their skills, talents and passions to be their best and achieve their ambitions both at work and at home. 
​As a career consultant, I am described as open, compassionate and results orientated. My unique approach using a mixture of coaching, mentoring and consultancy provides my clients with the tools, inspiration and accountability they need to find clarity, take action and reach both their personal and professional goals. 

I started her career in marketing communications and have over 15 years of international experience working in and for business. ​Through four years of experience in company training and facilitation, and as a lecturer at the Institute of Marketing & Communications (IMK) in Berlin, I have taught a multitude of career and business skills from interview technique to time management and negotiation.  

Originally from London, I am the mother of two boys, and I live and work in Berlin, Germany.