An anthropology professor breastfed her sick baby in front of her undergraduate class recently, causing a minor stir on campus. The assistant professor at American University, Adrienne Pine, made the difficult decision during the first week of classes to bring her infant daughter to work after child care plans fell through. As an HR manager and peer, how would you respond if a similar situation occurred in your workplace?
Though some child care topics may be taboo in the office, giving parents flexibility to care for their kids can build employee loyalty and appreciation. As mothers and fathers delicately balance productive business lives with their parenting responsibilities, employers try to accommodate their needs. Organizations should have clear child care policies and gain all employees’ support to avoid discrimination claims or large productivity disruptions.
"The levels of professionalism vary depending on the work environment," explains Grace Horoupian, a partner with Fisher & Phillips LLP, who suggests that child care policies will differ based on industry and workplace cultures.
For example, a creative and loose work environment will have a very different perspective and rules than that of a structured law firm. Horoupian recommends that employers monitor how the new policy affects client and customer relations and that other workplace rules are still applicable, such as sexual harassment.
Even though the American University professor was not provocatively exposing her breasts, "maybe [her students] didn't want to see that,” says Horoupian. “Some may say they were offended,” she continues.
The partner in the firm’s Irvine, Calif. office poses this question to employers concerned the child care policy may be an undue distraction: "Are they respecting the privacy of others in ensuring the policies aren't going to be disruptive to other employees?"
Basically, "it comes down to: what's your culture like? Are your clients' needs being taken care of? Are your employees productive under these policies and do you monitor [them to make sure they are implemented correctly] and not affecting other work rules?" Horoupian explains.
Ernst & Young, which is consistently among the top 10 best companies in Working Mother magazine’s annual list, not only offers lactation rooms at most company sites for breastfeeding moms, the firm will ship the breast milk home when moms go on business trips.
Unfortunately, many companies are eliminating their more flexible child care benefits, says Horoupian, to stretch productivity from thinning staffs.
"Typically, we've seen these types of benefits shrinking in the workforce because [companies] are under tremendous stress to be productive and be profitable. And some companies are hesitant to put in place policies that would jeopardize the productivity of their workers," she says.
Nevertheless, for some organizations these benefits are now ingrained in their company culture. For example, bringing kids to the office is no longer limited to Bring You Child to Work Day at Kenneth Blanchard Companies. The employer allows new parents to bring their baby to work for five months and colleagues consider visiting the little one as a way to de-stress during the day.
Even though productivity may drop slightly, commitment to the company grows, says Shirley Bullard, the organization’s chief administrative officer and VP of human resources.
New moms and dads can bring their infants to work as long as they have a private office. The company, which provides the baby equipment, even found an office for an employee who wanted to take advantage of the benefit but didn’t have a private room. Employees also must submit a care plan and get approval from superiors in order to take advantage of the perk.
Bullard strongly advocates the unique benefit, adding that “the baby lifts everyone’s spirits.”
In order to foster a successful child care policy or program, Fisher & Phillips Partner Horoupian stresses that employers put all policies in writing and be specific. For example, employers should clearly articulate limitations on where kids can go. If there is dangerous equipment on site, then parents should acknowledge responsibility for making sure the child doesn’t wander and stays safe. She suggests having employees fill out an acknowledgment that they received and are aware of the policies.
"In order to make sure you don't have an inappropriate work environment, you want to designate a few people to conduct surveillance to make sure parents are following the policies and that the policies aren't precluding anyone else's productivity and that they are not bothering other employees," adds Horoupian.
What child care benefits do you offer employees? Have you encountered challenges along the way and how have you overcome sensitive issues or problems? Share your thoughts in the comments.
