Babies in the Workplace

helped some mothers decide to remain at their jobs. She said:

   If you're a first time parent, you may be
   debating how does one manage all
   of this. It can be intimidating. [Bringing the
   baby to work] affords a trial period. The six
   months is a good demonstration to a parent
   that they can juggle both family and work
   obligations. If that's a positive experience,
   it might suggest to them, hey, I can
   successfully manage this.

   Sally Rynne said that she was never sure whether the mothers who brought in their babies to Health Newsletters would decide to be full-time moms when it was time for the babies to stop coming to work. In fact, she noticed the opposite effect. The women were engrossed in their work and glad to return to it without the added care of the baby in the office. She thinks it is "brutal for a mother to be home full time with her baby and then totally
separated."

   Sally also commented that bringing the baby to work provided a "transition period; it was a much easier transition for people that wanted to and needed to work." Wendy Zanotelli said that she definitely believes that being able to bring their babies to work helps UNCLE Credit Union to keep employees. She said that:

   I do not have hard numbers to support that
   [belief], but I definitely hear employees
   say, "This is so wonderful. If UNCLE didn't
   have the program, I might have had to
   quit my job and stay home because
   daycare is so expensive."

   Daycare, especially for babies, can be so expensive that it takes up nearly all of one parent's paycheck, especially for part-time
workers. Being able to bring a baby to work thus allows someone who enjoys working to continue to do so without sacrificing their time with their baby or their entire income to pay for day care.