After having a baby, many women prefer to stay at home with their little whippersnapper rather than head back to work.

It makes sense — sleepless nights, dirty nappies and Sesame Street is hard enough without coping with a full- or part-time job as well. An Australian survey has found that the main reason Australian women return to work within 12 months of having a baby was so they could pay personal bills, not because they wanted to.

In an Australian Women’s Weekly survey of 15,000 women, 75 per cent said paying bills was the driving force of returning to work within a year.

The survey’s results also showed that 38 per cent of the women returned to their employment for their own personal fulfilment, while another 14 per cent said they did so to keep their jobs, and 13 per cent went back to work to avoid losing their status.

The survey, the third and last in a series, has been described as the biggest of its kind and is a follow-up to another poll carried out more than 20 years ago in 1980. The latest instalment, which asked women questions about education, childcare and maternity leave, money, the republic and immigration, also found that 63 per cent wanted paid paternity leave.

And of those who wanted it, 96 per cent thought it was the Government’s responsibility, regardless of whether an employer contributed.

Employing Generation Y

Australian author Bernard Salt wants to help employers attract and retain Generation Y staff — labelled the flightiest generation. Salt, author of a global study commissioned by KPMG International on Generation Y and the financial services market, will be speaking at a networking event in London on June 24. The event is held by Advance, a global community of Australian professionals committed to advancing Australia.

» Conway St, Fitzroy Square, W1. June 24, 6.30pm. Register at www.advance.org.