Babies in the Workplace

   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."

   Melanie Lastra, of Schools Financial, commented on the ability of babies to bring out a new side of people, "People you don't think are that maternal all turn into babbling mothers--everyone ends up getting on their hands and knees to play with the babies."

   These baby programs introduced people without children to what babies are really like and gave them the chance to try their hand--even if only for a few minutes a day--at finding the best way to hold a baby and keep him happy. Several people

commented on how the quietest and most reserved people in the company often seemed to end up cooing and babbling the most with the babies. Carolyn Gable explained that they had a quiet young man working at New Age who was generally very reserved, but who held one of the babies on his lap for hours and played with the baby while working at his computer. Having babies around helped people feel more comfortable opening up, and it allowed coworkers to see sides of each other that wouldn't have been revealed without the babies' presence.

By enhancing coworkers' understanding of each other and feelings of closeness, the work atmosphere became a lot more friendly, camaraderie improved, and as a result, people were likely to be much more willing to work as a team. Willie Jones said that there was no resentment from other employees about babies being allowed to come in. He noted that: