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Talent Management Perspectives

Published August 2008

Babies-at-Work Programs Can Boost Morale, Attract Customers

  Agatha Gilmore

The typical office cubicle holds a lot: a clutter of papers on the desk, calendars and schedules tacked to the walls, a sleek corporate-looking telephone, a computer monitor stuck with yellow Post-It notes, a baby smiling and gurgling in a bassinet, a Filofax brimming with — wait, what?

OK, maybe that second to last item isn't quite so typical. But according to the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, more than 100 companies nationwide have implemented babies-at-work programs. These allow new parents to bring their infants to work, typically until the age of 6 months or until the baby starts to crawl.

"The basic idea is that parents bring their babies [to work], generally on a daily basis, and care for the babies while they're doing their jobs," said Carla Moquin, president of the Parenting in the Workplace Institute and author of two e-books: How to Start a Babies-at-Work Program and Babies at Work: Bringing New Life to the Workplace.

"Generally, companies consider this because they have a key employee they don't want to quit," Moquin said. "[Additionally,] there are a lot of women that have babies in the workforce right now, so it's a really big issue because a lot of small companies can't afford long, paid maternity leave. These programs are attractive to businesses because there's almost no cost involved in implementing them."

Despite the benefits, it is a controversial idea. For some, bringing an infant into the workplace might sound like a world of trouble, but proponents of babies-at-work programs say the benefits far outweigh any negative side effects.

"I was probably the one initially who thought it wasn't going to work," said Wendy Zanotelli, COO of Uncle Credit Union in Livermore, Calif. "With that first baby, I was shocked to see that morale at the credit union really increased. Employees really started to know each other on a more personal level, which helps productivity, overall teamwork and team building. That was the biggest pro."

Since introducing the policy, Uncle Credit Union has seen 19 babies in the workplace, Zanotelli said.

Moquin said other benefits of babies-at-work programs include employees returning to work earlier; not having to hire temporary workers or deal with errors attributed to the temporary cover; improved recruitment and overall retention; increased loyalty and trust in the organization; more collaboration; and in some cases, even bottom-line success.

"In the companies in which babies are in public view, such as in credit unions or stores, they find customers are more loyal, and they attract new customers. In stores, customers come in more often to see the babies, which generally leads to more sales," Moquin said.

However, the potential downsides associated with implementing a babies-at-work program can't be ignored. Moquin said some of the risks involved include disruptive or distracting behavior on the part of the child, short-term decreased productivity on the part of the parent or co-workers, and perhaps the trickiest of all, uncomfortable employees.

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