A Peaceful Revolution: Bringing Humanity to the Workplace

When it comes to open, flexible work options such as those MomsRising.org is working to achieve, the term "family-friendly" could more accurately be labeled "human-friendly." People in every conceivable living arrangement desire work that takes into account their individuality, their dreams, and their responsibilities outside of their jobs. Unfortunately, employers struggling with tight budgets hesitate to invest money in employee benefits and "family-friendly" programs without a guarantee of business benefits that will come from that investment.

So how do we help more businesses to understand the positive transformation that occurs when we respect employees' humanity and take into account their individual situations? One answer may be a low-cost, high-return program already implemented in over 70 organizations around the country--allowing babies in the workplace. From law firms to credit unions to government agencies to retail stores, managers and coworkers have been amazed to discover how the workplace changes when parents are allowed to work with their babies at the office on a regular basis, generally until around the time the babies start crawling or walking. The impact on the work environment has been profound in these companies with structured baby programs. Babies improved morale -- not just for the parents, who were obviously deeply grateful for the opportunity to keep their children with them -- but for the office in general. Higher morale meant happier, more loyal, and often more productive employees. People started talking about their personal lives more and developed closer relationships with their coworkers, which led to increased cooperation and teamwork. In many companies, managers noticed that people were actually nicer to each other as a result of the babies being around. People -- including many who really didn't want the baby program in the first place -- discovered that a smile or hug from a baby was deeply rejuvenating if they were having a bad day, and they talked about needing their daily "baby fix."

For the growing number of businesses that have experienced the increased retention, loyalty, and morale (as well as the lowered stress levels) that occur when an employer is sensitive to employees' needs as people, being human-friendly isn't even open for discussion -- it's clear that all, including the business, benefit from this philosophy. But for far too many in our society, when they walk onto the job, they have to forget the rules of life that were obvious when they were children -- that play and down time are critical to maintaining creativity, productivity, and motivation; that social support gives us the strength and resources to overcome obstacles; and that laughter and human contact can defuse stress like nothing else.

Babies-at-work programs obviously have many benefits for parents and babies, including easier breastfeeding, deeper bonding, lower day care costs, better financial stability, and increased social and intellectual stimulation for new mothers and babies. A "side effect" of babies in the workplace that could truly transform our society, though, is how regular interaction with babies (which was actually the "norm" in human history prior to the Industrial Revolution) rekindles awareness of our humanity in the workplace. It is likely that many more organizations will adopt baby programs, given the proven success of these programs in a wide range of companies, the extensive benefits of these programs, and the nominal financial costs for a business. As companies see firsthand how retention and productivity go up, collaboration and recruitment improve, customer loyalty increases, and health costs go down when businesses see workers -- and help workers see each other -- as individuals with complex interests and lives that don't disappear when they come to work, more human-friendly programs are sure to follow.

A Peaceful Revolution is a weekly blog about work/life satisfaction done in collaboration with MomsRising.org. Read a post by a leading thinker in the field every week.

Comments

[EmmaSteinfeld]

You started strong talking about "human-friendly" instead of "family-friendly," and yet you talk only about policies to accommodate parents and infants. New flash: not all humans are parents, will be parents, or want to be parents. What you are advocating are "child-friendly" and "parent-friendly" policies, not "human-friendly."

[FirstShirt]

We accomodate parents who have child care crises but babies in the workplace [not a child care setting] is a no no. They are sweet, and cuddly and anyone with a brain and any sensitivity will spend and inordinate amount of time with them. That's the problem.

[anon004]

My husband had an employee whose daughter had hip displasia. Because of the special care required due to the harness she wore, the employee and his wife were reluctant to put her in daycare. The employee's wife worked at a large business that didn't accomodate children in the workplace. So, my husband's employee brought in a crib and changing table and took care of his daughter until the harness was removed, which was when she was 1 year old. Was it disruptive of the workplace? My husband is a financial planner and his clients loved it! (Just imagine the reduction in MEGO of estate planning if you get to play with a baby during the appointment.) The local paper wrote an article about my husband's family-friendly business. It was great publicity. Even though this employee no longer works for my husband, we are still close friends, and his daughter will be 17 this July. She has turned out to be an intelligent, beautiful girl with a great personality. We are proud of whatever small contribution we made to her growth and development. So, yes, it can work very nicely.

[eggman]

Babies are loud and disruptive. They require constant attention. There is no way having babies in the workplace would be good for productivity. And it would not be good for the babies either--you mention that this was the norm in the pre-Industrial Age, but fail to note that child labor was also the norm.

Here's a better idea: Parents are more enabled than ever to work productively from home. Give mothers and fathers scaled-back hours together so they can take turns bonding with baby and working throughout the day. Not for just six weeks either--six months would be more like it.

[spinstahbabe]

I can't imagine anything more annoying than a baby in my workplace. Believe it or not, some people don't like babies or children, and feel our society is already WAY too child-centric. Now if you were talking about allowing dogs in the workplace, I might agree with you.

[hopeless277]

So do people without babies not have families? How about disabled spouses or elderly parents?