Babies at Work Programs: Kids at the Office Not Conducive to Productivity
July 18, 2010 – 10:04 pmI recently came across this fascinating post on the Boston Globe website. In this article, Globe staff writer Lylah Alphonse discusses whether or not new parents should bring their tiny tots to the office. Babiesatwork.org is a website run by the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, an organization that advocates letting parents bring their new babies to work until they are able to crawl. According to the site, over 140 organizations across the country have established successful babies-at-work programs. These programs succeed because they are set up “just like any other workplace policy–with clear rules and expectations to guide people’s behavior and to prevent potential problems.” When employers establish clear boundaries and parents respond promptly to their baby’s needs, “happy babies transform the work environment and coworkers frequently bond with the babies as individuals and become invested in helping to nurture them.” The Parenting in the Workplace Institute maintains that babies-at-work programs lead to happier marriages, less incidents of post-partum depression and socialized, happy babies.
However, Alphonse is skeptical of the benefits of bringing your wee one to work. She writes, “in most work environments, even a happy baby can be a major distraction.” And if a baby is fussy at the workplace, it will affect more than just mom. Babies-at-work advocates suggest that if parents are allowed to bring their child with them to the office that this will alleviate the stress that comes from trying to balancing work and family. Yet, the program seems to do the exact opposite. Bringing your kids with you to work magnifies the pressure put on most moms to “do it all.” When a mother (or father) brings their young child to work they are forced to manage both their parental and work duties at the same time and something is bound to suffer. So what does Alphonse recommend to the Mommy who needs to make a living, but can’t cope with the cost of daycare? Telecommuting for one. “Allowing schedule flexibility and telecommuting would have similar benefits for families while causing far less disruption in the workplace.”
So instead of trying to talk your boss into instituting a bring-your-baby-to-work program, discuss flexible scheduling. For more on Alphonse’s take on the babies at work program, click here.
Andrea Hart is a freelance writer, a student, a teacher, a wife and a mother to two rambunctious boys. She currently resides in Southeastern PA.
6 Responses to “Babies at Work Programs: Kids at the Office Not Conducive to Productivity”
Hi, Andrea, I’m the founder of the Parenting in the Workplace Institute and the creator of the Babies in the Workplace website mentioned in Alphonse’s piece. I just wanted to point out that Alphonse did not actually *talk* to any companies with a formal babies-at-work program. Her article is based solely on her own theoretical views of how these programs might work, and not on the reality of these programs. Our website is based on hundreds of interviews of managers, executives, coworkers, and parents that have seen this work with dozens of babies in many cases. I would suggest that before shooting down the idea, you may want to talk to people who have actually *done* it. The reality is far different–and far better–than most people expect; that’s why I became interested in the potential of these programs. The list is here:
http://www.babiesatwork.org/companies.html.
Carla Moquin
By Carla Moquin on Jul 20, 2010
I brought my son to the office for 9 months (age 3 mo - 1 year). It worked very well in our casual office. At 1 year I left that job to work at home because he was becoming harder to distract and kept tearing my office apart. Now I’m a virtual assistant and while my son is no less exploratory, he “destroys” my living room, not my boss’s office.
By Jenn Bernat on Jul 27, 2010
Having been a parent who tried to “do it all,” I would cautiously submit that the true success of the program would depend on each person, not necessarily on specific rules (although rules would critical).
I was already working from home. I took an older child to daycare and kept my pre-crawler at at home with me while I worked, thinking initially that it would be a great arrangement. After all, how much trouble is a baby if they aren’t mobile yet?
From experience, I can say a lot! My work definitely suffered. I was more stressed when trying to work because of frequent interruptions to attend to a young baby’s needs. In my line of work (software development), long term concentration is required. When interrupted, I don’t just lose the actual time spent tending to the baby; I lose several more minutes trying to pick back up where I left off. I started to long for the days that I had to go into the office.
I suspect it depends largely on the type of work done in the office, the personality of the baby, the personality of the mother, and the mother’s ability to juggle both work and baby.
Perhaps I was just an unsuccessful case study.
By Debbie Baus on Jul 27, 2010
I to can speak from experience. When I was 21 weeks pregnant with my twins I began telecommuting because I was on bed rest. After the girls were born I returned to the office and brought them with me. Just as your article said, my co-workers all bonded with the girls and we all shared in the parenting and caring for them. The problem with that is that all of our jobs suffered. Even though they were infants and not mobile at all, they were very demanding on all of us. Our next step was for me to telecommute 2 days a week and go in to the office 3 days. This to was very trying.
In the end I had to start working from home for myself where I could make my own hours. This way when my husband is not working he can watch the girls while I do work.
I still do some part-time accounting for the company I was working full-time for and I do bring the girls with me. They are now toddlers and are actually easier to deal with for a few hours at a time while in the office. Even though I no longer technically “need” the work from them, they did alot for me when I did need them, so I do what I can.
For those that have made it work, god bless you. Maybe the problem was that I tried doing it with 2 babies. None the less, our new arrangement makes us all happier.
http://www.homeworkers101.com/
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