Babies in the Workplace

to change or end the baby program. Deborah Driskill discussed this phenomenon: "The parents were working a lot harder because they appreciated the opportunity." She also pointed out that if a first-time parent needed to work a little later some days to catch up on work, it wasn't a problem because, since they had their baby with them, they didn't have to leave early to get to a day care center before it closed. Nathan Schmidt of Schools Financial said:

   I wish more employers would do it, to create
   an environment that really puts life into
   perspective. At first, in certain areas of an
   organization, it's perceived by people as,
   "How is this going to impact me?" But it's
   really not a big deal. The mother gets her
   work done. It really is a benefit to both the
   mother and her family as well as the
   organization.

   Dan Pinger explained, "I think that people with a well-balanced life are far

more productive than people who do not
have such a balance. This is a part of the balance. And this sort of thing radiates throughout the office." Mary Admasian of Zutano explained that they "find that moms want to work more. Because they are given the opportunity to have their baby with them, if they have to take time out for a few minutes [with the baby], they work a little extra or add an hour here and there. It's a nice exchange."

   As Fran Oswald, the branch manager at Schools Financial, described:

   [The teller mothers] are amazing. I was
   blown away at how they could do everything
   one-handed. We have a transaction report
   that describes how many transactions each
   teller completes. I compared moms to
   individuals without a baby. One of our moms
   was actually completing more transactions
   on a daily basis than other tellers who didn't
   have babies to care for!