| Author |
bring your baby to work |
enthomas
Joined: Apr 09, 2007
Posts: 1 |  Posted: 2007-04-09 06:32
We have an employee that is currently on maternity leave. A fellow employee made the recommendation that she be permitted to bring her baby to work with her daily through the 7th month upon returning from her leave. Any thoughts, concerns, ideas or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have never dealt with this before.
|
rrupert
Joined: Feb 15, 2006
Posts: 1684 | Posted: 2007-04-09 15:56
I LOVE BABIES!
Don't recommend it. Our exec asst did this just in the first 12 weeks of baby's life and it was a HUGE distraction. Especially to the administrative group. They ended up holding the baby a lot (receptionist on her lap, etc). Baby's crying could be heard throughout the building. NOT a professional environment. And for those of us that love babies, it was hard to not want to get up and play/cuddle/etc.
Especially not between 3 months and 7 months. Maybe as a newborn where they are basically sleeping 18 hours a day.
rr
|
hr4CPAs
Joined: Apr 11, 2007
Posts: 5 | Posted: 2007-04-11 15:01
First of all, the request would need to come from the employee on maternity leave to even be worth debating. Other employee suggestions are moot unless the employee who is having the baby even cares. I cannot see how having a baby at work would be advantageous for the company in any way considering that this is not a "normal" benefit for employees. Another issue to consider is precedence. If you do this for one person, how could you not do it for any other moms? If you really want to help this new mom, I suggest offering a flexible work arrangement or telecommuting.
|
Hrpro
Joined: Mar 16, 2007
Posts: 809 | Posted: 2007-04-11 16:32
My initial reaction is what possible value could the company get from this. As was pointed out the distraction of a baby would quickly dilute any value from having the employee there.
|
kreasoner
Joined: May 08, 2007
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2007-05-08 04:22
Crazy idea! I am not a baby lover and I can't even stand it when people bring their babies in to show them off. It is a huge distraction for entire departments for hours. The company pays you to do a job and that job is expected to get done. Call me old school! Do your job and go home and be a mother!
|
Anela
Joined: May 08, 2007
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2007-05-08 04:38
I love babies...but I must agree with the majority of responses here. Number one, the distraction could be quite bad-- a crying baby in the next cubicle, then there is the breast feeding (?) and diaper changing...what if we make noise and baby is asleep?? All in all, not a practical idea both for Mom as well as coworkers and management.
|
BelvaJ
Joined: Jan 23, 2007
Posts: 3 | Posted: 2007-05-08 05:16
I'll add my two cents' worth- not only will the baby be a distraction, but the potential for picking up all kinds of "bugs" and other illnesses is pretty high - adults tend to come to work feeling under the weather, and one adult's "under the weather" could be disastrous to the baby's health. Once the baby's sick, then the mother's out of the office taking care of it....good intentions, perhaps, but bad suggestion on the fellow employee's part!
|
SullivanM
Joined: Jul 22, 2003
Posts: 2 | Posted: 2007-05-08 05:25
I brought my newborn to work with me - lasted about 1 week (maybe less). I was completely distracted and unable to focus. My co-workers (all women) suggested it to the boss (also a woman), but I was the one who decided it wasn't going to work!
|
jillfeldman
Joined: May 08, 2007
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2007-05-08 05:28
Bringing a baby to work would not be wise. There are all kinds of things to consider. What if the baby is injured at work? The employer would have a huge liability. It wouldn't be very pleasant if the baby got sick at work. Not to mention the fact that little work would get done. Obviously tending to a baby's needs comes before any work assignments. A baby doesn't belong in the workplace unless there is a designated child care area nearby.
|
tporcelli
Joined: Jun 13, 2006
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2007-05-08 05:30
I brought my newborn in twice (before my leave was up) in order to run some monthly reports. Between him fussing and the other employees hovering, it was next to impossible to get the reports done.
I do not recommend it, babies need more attention than the workplace can afford.
|
klryan
Joined: May 08, 2007
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2007-05-08 06:11
As a recent mom (my son is 5 1/2 months old) I can say I would not WANT to bring my son w/me to work. I enjoy my time at work to be something other than a "mom". I work one day from home and sometimes I find that a challenge (end up working longer hours). Even as a newborn my son did not sleep much during the day and I found it difficult to get anything done even when on maternity leave (such as cleaning etc). As much as I love my son I would not want him to be at work with me. There is a HUGE distraction factor and I would figure I would not be able to get much done and would have impact on other people as well.
|
lizliz
Joined: May 08, 2007
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2007-05-08 06:25
I am the working mom of a 6 month old, and no, it's a bad idea to bring your baby to work unless you have a babysitter with you and an office with a door. However, if you had a babysitter with you, what's the point of bringing the baby to work?
I agree with the concept of making the workplace friendly and conducive to the family environment, but if you're having a hard time being away from your baby during the day, bringing him to work will not solve the problem. In fact, as a mother, it might make you feel worse because you can't devote yourself fully to either your work or your baby.
And I also would find it distracting if a coworker brought a baby to work.
Our society needs to be supportive of working families and better solutions need to be thought of, but bringing baby to work is not an answer.
|
kimlilleync
Joined: May 08, 2007
Posts: 2 | Posted: 2007-05-08 06:26
I believe this answer will depend on the circumstances in which the mother requested to bring her baby and the type of work she does. I had requested that I bring the baby to work because it was during "busy season" for a CPA firm. I was in a private office and the door was kept closed at all times. This was a pleasant experience. Other staff did not hover over the baby because we were all working. The baby slept most of the time. Other staff agreed that this would be ok due to the time constraints of my job. My employer was very supportive of my decision. There were no complaints. This process can be done effectively if handled correctly.
|
kimlilleync
Joined: May 08, 2007
Posts: 2 | Posted: 2007-05-08 06:28
[quote]
On 2007-05-08 06:26, kimlilleync wrote:
I believe this answer will depend on the circumstances in which the mother requested to bring her baby and the type of work she does. I had requested that I bring the baby to work because it was during "busy season" for a CPA firm. I was in a private office and the door was kept closed at all times. This was a pleasant experience. Other staff did not hover over the baby because we were all working. The baby slept most of the time. Other staff agreed that this would be ok due to the time constraints of my job. My employer was very supportive of my decision. There were no complaints. This process can be done effectively if handled correctly.
The baby was with me one month and then he went to a private sitter.
|
kanek58
Joined: Sep 01, 2004
Posts: 2 | Posted: 2007-05-08 06:31
I work for my family business and I actually brought both of my new babies to work when I had them.
1st baby: slept through just about everything, but I was only able to stay at work for 2-3 hours at a time without baby starting to be an interference
2nd baby: was a distraction from the first moment--did not sleep and wanted to be held A LOT. Tried working at desk while holding her--not an effective way to accomplish anything. Also tried a baby sling (not sure what they call it now--where baby is nestled against your chest). That didn't didn't work either. Had issues with trying to do paperwork (needed two hands), talking on phone (baby noises and crying interfered), etc.
Co-workers were annoyed and distracted. I was annoyed and distracted.
All in all, not a good idea.
|
= Member Only
