Babies in the Workplace

   down the hallway and see a sleeping
   child--whatever state the child might be
   in.

   Brian Moline, now at the Kansas Corporation Commission, described one important meeting he had in his office when he was at the Kansas Insurance Department. He had given his secretary strict instructions not to interrupt the meeting unless it was extremely important. But during a particularly tense moment, he heard a knock at the door. He walked to the door prepared to tell his secretary not to disturb him and discovered instead that the "knock" was really the current office baby pushing her walker against his door, her arms outstretched and clearly asking to be held. He picked her up and introduced her to the other people in the meeting, and he discovered that her appearance had completely disarmed everyone and relieved the tension in the room.

Dan Pinger explained that, in his public relations business, a lot of the work is strategic planning on what kind of direction the corporate communications thrust should be, and that it involves a lot of creative thinking. He felt that having babies around helped with this. He said that the babies often come to internal meetings, and he could remember people joking, "Ask little Tommy that question--we can't figure it out." He said that he felt "that was the kind of thing that took the edge off this being a business relationship."

Deann Tiede of the Kansas Insurance Department commented that she thinks the baby program at the Kansas Insurance Department helps morale. She said that, "I will pop in on a mom periodically to spend a moment with the baby and then I'm on my way. A sweet, little smile has a way of brightening your day." Cathy Weatherford of