Babies in the Workplace

idea of having babies in the workplace and parents get used to balancing their baby and work responsibilities. Most of these companies said that when a parent first brought a baby to work, it usually seemed to take a week or two for the parent to establish an effective system of taking care of the baby while getting work done. Kandace Bozarth, a teller at Schools Financial, echoed the experiences of several other parents who had brought in babies:

   The first couple of days with Emily, I was
   skeptical it would work. I was totally worn
   out juggling the baby plus work. But then it
   became routine and became too easy. She
   was so good about it!

   After this transitional period, nearly all the babies--and parents--in these programs settled into a stable and happy rhythm. Having patience for a few days or weeks will pay large dividends to the business in the long run.

then it wouldn't work for them to come to work regularly. She said that one of the babies in their program cried more than the others, but this was only true very near the end of the baby's time coming into the office, so it wasn't a substantial problem. She said that "companies need to be sure they provide a good work environment for all employees and take care of clients." While a baby program can be extremely beneficial and successful for businesses and parents, situations will occasionally arise where companies and parents will need to compromise and make accommodations to ensure that other employees aren't disturbed.

Expect a Transitional Period

Companies should also understand that there will be at least a small transition period during which people get used to the