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did you know?

More than 130 companies have implemented infants-at-work programs, including credit unions, consulting firms, stores, private schools, and law offices.

wise words we heard

Rather than staying stuck in that tired “parent versus worker” mentality, we need to recognize “good parent” equals “good worker.”

While there are different options for managing the needs of a new baby as a working parent—taking a leave of absence, switching to contract work, job sharing, and others—sometimes the best option is the simple one: let the baby come to work with the parent for six to eight months. Today formal babies-at-work programs are popping up and—to the delight of scores of new parents—working well. Mothers and fathers have successfully brought their babies to workplaces ranging from cubicles to retail environments and to companies with as few as three employees to more than 3,000. The Parenting in the Workplace Institute offers resources on how to make a formal babies-at-work program successful for all—worker, business, and baby.

These programs are entirely different from employer-supported infant-care options such as onsite daycare. They allow parents to perform their regular jobs while “wearing,” feeding, and watching over the new baby.

Advice for Employers

  • Take advantage of the agreements already in use or create your own rules of engagement. Spelling out concrete terms and provisions for bringing an infant to work—and having both parties sign and agree to the terms—greatly increases the chance of success.
  • Set standards of eligibility. Make the age of baby, demeanor of the baby, and performance of the worker prerequisites for participation.
  • Provide appropriate privacy. For the privacy of the parent and the consideration of officemates, set up appropriate spaces for feeding and changing and a retreat spot if baby’s having a tough moment.

Advice for Workers

  • Remember that coworkers are not babysitters. Don’t anticipate that everyone will want to have guardian time over your little one, but do have one volunteer in place who can step in for bathroom breaks.
  • Use common sense. If you or your baby are sick, don’t go to work. And remember, if you run out for coffee, baby goes too.

Resources

Download a PDF flier about Babies at Work to share with friends, post in a common area at work or put up on your fridge. Once you open this file, you can save it to your computer to send it as an email or print it out to post a physical copy.

Babies at Work (Color)     Babies at Work (Black and White)

Help Create a Babies-at-Work World

Submitted on Tue, 2010-08-31 04:00

The Parenting in the Workplace Institute (PIWI) has a vision of a world in which interacting with babies is just part of a regular day at the office. For nearly 150 confirmed businesses and more than 1,600 babies, this world is already a vivid and enchanting reality. Will you help our Institute and MomsRising to bring this reality to thousands of other businesses and millions of other families?

We are prepared to enable a dramatic expansion of this world in which babies are welcome to come with their mothers or fathers to work every day and parents care for their children while doing their jobs.

--A world in which bank tellers and grocery store employees cuddle their babies while helping clients, and customers come to the businesses more often specifically to visit the babies

--A world in which coworkers and managers start out skeptical about starting a babies-at-work program, but then find themselves bonding with the babies and wanting them to continue coming to work

--A world in which parents can stay with their babies and support their families at the same time.

--A world in which both men and women in the workplace provide a social network for these new families and volunteer to help care for the babies.

--A world in which the business benefits of these programs are so momentous that executives rave about how integral a baby program has been in the success of their business.

PIWI has already helped five businesses to set up successful and sustainable babies-at-work programs. We have documented successful baby-inclusive programs in law firms, consulting firms, retail stores, credit unions, government agencies, and even in the offices of manufacturing companies, as well as many other kinds of businesses. We know that well-structured baby programs work in companies as small as three employees and as large as three thousand.

We believe that many other companies have experimented with allowing babies at work. We want to find and celebrate these companies. We want to build a network that includes people around the world who want to join us in showing that parenting in the workplace can be the bridge between career and family that our world has been seeking for so long. We want to show that parenting at work transforms businesses, builds strong families, and will revolutionize our world.

For more details on our current projects and to join the parenting-at-work movement, please visit our blog.

We look forward to sharing this journey with you.

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