Babies in the Workplace

talked. It was such a sign of leadership strength.

   Deann Tiede at the Kansas Insurance Department said that having babies around

   [promotes a] true connection between
   employees. With a baby present in the
   workplace, many begin to share their own
   parental experiences with one another.
   They begin to know even more about one
   another and that translates to more of a
   family atmosphere within the work
   environment. You go from being coworkers
   to becoming friends and, in some ways,
   colleagues become an extended family.

   Brent Roper of the NAIC explained his perspective:

   When you work with people, politics come
   into play, people get frustrated, et cetera.
   But one thing most people can agree on is
   that you need to treat babies well. It brings
   people together and softens things up.

   [Having babies around] tells you what's
   important in life and what's not.

He said that:

   The relations between employees and
   managers are very laid-back. There is no
   question in our mind about the fact that
   relations between people are being helped
   by babies being around.

Brent added:

   You can't get 10 people to agree on
   anything--even what color the sky is. But
   when a baby is in the workplace, they are all
   there and very protective. It's a very nice
   thing. It naturally just brings people
   together. You bring a baby in the room and
   people flock there. That was not our
   intent--we were not trying to build teams.
   We were just trying to be good to people at a
   point in their lives when they want to be with
   their families.