THE GREAT BABIES-AT-WORK CHALLENGE

THE CHALLENGE--Start a babies-at-work program in your company.  Gain positive publicity, higher morale and teamwork, lower turnover of key employees, and many other benefits--with virtually no costs for your business.  The Parenting in the Workplace Institute will guide you at every step of the way.  Contact us via email or call (801) 897-8702 to sign up or to contribute to this cause.  Read on to discover all the reasons to act now.

Would you like to live in a world in which:

• We learn that artificial boundaries imposed by our culture don't have to stand in our way--and balancing work and family takes on a whole new meaning.
• Businesses see firsthand how helping employees with their family needs increases productivity and retention and dramatically improves the bottom line.
• A "village" develops as coworkers bond with babies and voluntarily pitch in to support new parents and children.
• The magic of a baby's smile or laugh causes workplace stress to melt away.
• Parents--and coworkers--learn parenting skills with the support of others and are highly responsive to babies’ needs.

   You've just welcomed a new baby into the world.  You take a few months off from your job after her birth and then, like millions of other parents, you return to work while your baby is cared for by somebody else--often a stranger--for dozens of hours each week.  After all, that's "what you do" in a recession economy, when paid maternity leave (if you even have any) only lasts for a few weeks or months and most people need to work outside the home in order to support their families.

   But what if office and retail businesses actually welcomed new parents and their infants into the workplace--with parents caring for the babies while doing their jobs--until the babies were six to eight months old? 

   Successful babies-at-work programs have been featured in recent months in the New York Times, Workforce Management, USA Today, People Magazine, Time Magazine, and dozens of other major media outlets worldwide.  The Parenting in the Workplace Institute has identified more than 120 companies with existing babies-at-work programs and has helped several companies to start successful baby programs from scratch (including DreamSacks, HometownQuotes, and W.S. Badger, which were all featured in news articles about their programs (KDRV News--DreamSacks; NewsChannel 5--HometownQuotes; New Hampshire Public Radio--W.S. Badger)).  In fact, even the management consulting firm The Ken Blanchard Companies (founded by the author of the best-selling management book, The One Minute Manager) has had a highly successful babies-at-work program for many years.  Our Institute has worked with a broker to create an optional babies-at-work business liability insurance policy.  We have a book available to enable successful proposal and implementation of baby programs, How to Start a Babies-at-Work Program.  In spite of all this, however, our society remains highly skeptical of the viability of this concept; most people assume, "It would never work at my company."  There are even people who claim that the Parenting in the Workplace Institute's database of baby-friendly companies isn't real, because it's "impossible" for a successful business to have babies in the workplace.  It's just incredibly difficult for most people to visualize how these programs could possibly work. 

   So, the Parenting in the Workplace Institute is going to show you.

   We are going to document every step--from bringing management and personnel on board with the idea, on through the months in which babies are coming to work--and we are going to show the transformation that occurs in every company that sets up a formal, carefully structured babies-at-work program.  We are going to do this through our websites and blog, through Facebook and Twitter, and through other outlets--and we anticipate that many of the hundreds of websites and media organizations that have expressed support for our work will help to spread the word.  We are going to show--through interviews, pictures, and video--how skepticism (and even hostility) shifts to acceptance and, often, enthusiastic support for continuing to allow babies at work.

   The Parenting in the Workplace Institute is actively seeking companies in California or the Intermountain West (other parts of the country will also be considered) to be participants in The Great Babies-at-Work Challenge.  We are confident that these programs will be successful (however, a promise to continue a babies-at-work program long term is not a requirement for participation).  The only requirement is that a company be open to the idea and willing to allow the progress to be documented (details will be agreed upon with each company and individuals within a company can remain anonymous), and that at least one parent be permitted to bring their baby to work for at least four months, within the policy provisions (for example, babies cannot be disruptive to coworkers and parents are still responsible for completing their work). 

   The Parenting in the Workplace Institute is going to prove--company by company--that  we can set up a successful babies-at-work program from scratch in virtually any corporate culture (assuming the work environment is physically safe for babies)--and we are going to answer the following questions:

How would babies affect morale?
What about productivity?
How would the company be affected if parents brought their babies?
How would employee retention be affected?
What about stress levels?
How would coworkers react?
Would people want to work for a company with babies at work?
What effect would babies have on corporate culture and teamwork?
What about customer reactions?
Would babies be happy while at work with their parents?
What if bringing babies to work was no big deal?

   (The following quotes and stories are from the book Babies at Work: Bringing New Life to the Workplace.  They are from executives, managers, coworkers, and parents in companies with structured babies-at-work programs.  And these comments are mirrored by people in more than 120 other companies--in law firms, credit unions, public relations firms, government agencies, consulting firms, schools, retail stores, and on and on.  More than 1,400 babies have successfully come to work with their parents in companies ranging from 2 to 3,000 employees, generally until the babies are 6 to 8 months of age or starting to crawl.)

How would babies affect morale?

"[It is] such a morale boost.  The parents who use the program love it.  And everyone on staff loves having little ones around.  It’s very uplifting.  And it doesn’t distract from doing excellent work for our clients."

"[The call center manager said that] it did so much for the morale of the department.  A call center environment is high stress sometimes, and everyone seems a lot less stressed out [because of the babies]."

"The men in the organization will actually get most attached to the babies.  When a baby graduates [from the program], it’s the men who tend to say things like, 'I’m really going to miss that little guy or little girl.'  The single men say, 'I don’t hold babies,' but when the babies come in, they’re the ones walking around with them.  They’ll carry the baby around.  People say things like, 'I can be having a really sucky day and look over and see a cute little baby, and pick her up and walk her around for a few minutes, and my whole attitude changes.'"

What about productivity?

"People can be productive and run rings around their job if they want to.  And probably most people could do their job in 80% of the time without much difficulty.  People gave 110% because they could bring in their babies.  If they lost some productivity during the time the baby was there, they gave 110% later."

"If there’s one thing about this whole business, it’s that the mother is so thrilled to have the freedom of bringing her baby, that she would stand on her head to make sure that all the work is done.  As a matter of fact, sometimes I have thought that productivity has increased because they are so conscientious about making this work."

How would the company be affected if parents brought their babies?

"It’s a dynamite program.  I get the employee back a lot quicker.  When an individual is out on maternity leave, under California law, I can’t replace them.  I’m short-handed for the whole time.  But this way, I get the mother back in eight to ten weeks and I have coverage again.  And the mom is happy because she has time to bond with her baby.  It’s a win-win for both employer and employee."

"I got my employee back six times faster than I would have.  I didn’t have to worry about covering shifts.  It’s much easier to stop maybe six times a day to cover for an employee with a baby than do it all day long."

How would employee retention be affected?

"For us to replace a person because they aren’t satisfied with their child care arrangements, it would cost 30% of their salary to find someone new, and their history on accounts can be irreplaceable.  But being a little less productive for a few months evens out in the end."

"I can go out and get a Fortune 50 company as a client.  That is not a problem.  My problem is finding good employees who care about customers--employees who care about the freight, about a shipment that has to get there by 5:00 a.m.  If I show my employees that I care about them and their life, they, in turn, care about my customers and about New Age."

"If you’re a first time parent, you may be debating how does one manage all of this.  It can be intimidating.  [Bringing the baby to work] affords a trial period.  The six months is a good demonstration to a parent that they can juggle both family and work obligations.  If that’s a positive experience, it might suggest to them, hey, I can successfully manage this."

What about stress levels?

"[Having babies around] is a stress reliever for people.  Stuff happens--there’s pressure and deadlines.  If clients are not happy with something, it can be really, really stressful.  But if you can walk down the hall and pick up a baby, you feel better instantaneously.  I can’t explain it, but it’s just remarkable.  If you’re having a bad day--I know other people have ways they deal with stress; they take a walk or something.  But all you need to do at [our company] is walk down the hall to a baby and you’re fine."

"We’re driven by some pretty crazy deadlines, and people can be stressed out.  The minute you walk in with a baby, everyone just kind of forgets everything, and they relax, they talk to the baby, and everyone forgets about stress for a moment and refocuses.  I think it’s refreshing to people.  We’re all stressed out, but we have this baby giggling and laughing and loving life.  We reevaluate--you say, these schedules really aren’t that bad.  It sounds silly to say, but that’s the effect."

How would coworkers react?

"A married couple in the company had recently had their first child.  The supervisor was talking to the husband and asked if the couple was planning on splitting their time with the baby at work so that the baby’s presence wouldn’t inconvenience their respective project teams.  To the supervisor's amusement, the husband said that the decision was actually a big controversy because their work teams both 'wanted to have the baby all the time.'"

"Employees want the baby to be there.  They love having a baby around.  Usually folks are chomping at the bit to take care of the baby while [her parent goes] to a meeting."

Would people want to work for a company with babies at work?

"[I] think there are people who, when it came to a decision as to whether they would accept our offer to work here or a competitor’s offer, they accepted ours.  I think [the baby program] was one of the selling points for the agency to get bright talent."

"As clients found out about the baby program at [our organization], a lot of them said to [me], 'I wish I could work for your company.'"

What effect would babies have on corporate culture and teamwork?

"The babies were not a disruption for other employees.  It was kind of a team-building thing.  It got infectious--everyone pitched in.  If the baby was getting fussy and the mom was busy, we backed up the moms.  It brought the team effort into play."

"New bonds get set up.  People have said that to me.  Someone they never had contact with--like someone in the accounting department who wouldn’t interact regularly with someone in graphic design--suddenly the graphics person comes by to see the baby and a relationship develops--they now have a bond.  In that regard, there’s more camaraderie.  People will naturally reach out to a person with a baby."

What about customer reactions?

"Customers thought it was the coolest thing they ever saw.  They thought it was great to have someone ringing up a sale with a baby in a sling on her hip, or a baby laying on the hearth asleep in a bassinet."

"Three credit union tellers all independently commented that they noticed credit union members deliberately choosing longer teller lines in order to see a baby when they finally reached the teller window."

"The babies in the bookstore created a ‘warm, fuzzy atmosphere,’ and the owner said that 'women wouldn’t cross the threshold of the store without making a fuss.  Working mothers, especially, liked the idea of being rung up by someone with a baby.'  The owner explained that he got 'all kinds of reinforcement that we had made a good decision and that people appreciated it.'"

Would babies be happy while at work with their parents?

"[The workplace] is a great environment for babies.  They are comfortable with people as a result.  They were passed around at staff meetings.  They’re all bright, happy kids who got to be with their moms for the first six months."

"One baby was pretty fussy for the first week, and we thought we would have a problem.  But he became socialized, and there were lots of people around and cooing at him.  For the next week and from then on, he was absolutely fine.  I think [being in the workplace] helps babies become better adjusted.  It was a huge thing I noticed--being around lots of people makes babies happy."

How would it affect the parents?

"A lot of different parents have created their own community and trade stories.  It’s like a support group in here--especially for the first kid.  People ease each other’s fears."

"Sometimes I think that if you work full time and then come home, you’re too tired to want to do a lot of playing with your child.  But if you can fit that in, in little bursts throughout the day, it makes them happier and you happier."

"There’s something to be said for the ease with which you can pick a kid up and tend to them, and you realize it’s not interfering with work as much as might be thought by someone who hasn’t done it.  Particularly when they are teeny tiny, which is when moms most need a connection with humans that can talk back to you.  I had a tough time with ‘eat, sleep, nothing else.’  It was just as easy to be at [work] nursing him as at home nursing, unshowered, and not having human conversations."

What if bringing babies to work was no big deal?

"[Upper management] was very supportive of the program, so I needed to keep an open mind.  But to myself I kept thinking, 'No work will get done while there’s a baby in the office.'  But as it turned out, that’s simply not the case.  Yes, people stop to visit the baby from time to time, but overall it has little or no impact on our employees’ overall productivity.  That’s probably the thing that surprised me the most.  It only takes a short amount of time and the baby becomes a fixture of the environment--it's not a big thing."

"It was more exciting when the first couple of babies arrived, but now it’s commonplace--you just see babies.  The baby becomes part of our day-to-day life."

   But the fact is, this concept is incredibly difficult for most people to wrap their minds around--until they see it for themselves. 

"When they first announced it--when it went live--I was thinking, 'That’s ridiculous. How do they expect me to run a branch with babies?'  I just couldn’t see it working.   But they sold me on [the program], and I’ve been really happy with it."

"People were worrying about the baby screaming or whether they would be able to get work done.  But it became a joy for everyone."

"The managers were really concerned, especially in branch locations—about the money, the members, the teller lines.  They said it wouldn’t work.  But it does work."

The Bottom Line

   As we pursue The Great Babies-at-Work Challenge, we are going to save families thousands of dollars on day care and improve the morale, teamwork, and productivity in businesses whose employees are demoralized by layoffs or simply by this difficult economy.  We're also going to attract free publicity for participating businesses who are willing to just try this "new" idea (albeit an idea that was the norm for most of human history) and to show their dedication to their employees in the process.

Beyond the Bottom Line

   If you wish to be part of this cultural revolution--"day care's new frontier" as USA Today put it--please sign up or nominate a company for our Challenge or consider supporting our work.  The Parenting in the Workplace Institute has the knowledge, the credibility, and the experience to transform our economy and our culture.  We are grateful for any assistance or encouragement you can provide and we look forward to sharing with you the excitement and progress of this project.

Comments

[Debbie Sallen]

We have had more babies (so far) than any other company on the list. We are now up to 65!! It is a fantastic program and I strongly encourage anyone thinking about implementing the program to do it! Just give a try. Feel free to contact me & I'll be happy to share our program, experiences, forms, etc. with you! Debbie Sallen, Valley Credit Union (408) 955-1315

[anonymous]

We have a Babies at the Workplace program and our CEO promotes it to the media. What is odd is that while they promote it, they make you feel awful about bringing the baby, like it is taking away from your work when we put 110 percent, if not even more. We bring work home even. This is disappointing because we promote it so highly, but behind closed doors, the feeling of guilt of bringing your baby is there...from the top executives. I think this is a great program if the company has its heart into it and not just for publicity.