Parenting in the Workplace

As I mentioned earlier this week, "balance" is a misnomer. One way to acheive harmony in your work and life may be to find ways to better integrate your family into your life. If your family involves a new baby, you could integrate your family with your work by bringing the baby with you. I've shared articles before with stories of companies that welcome babies in the workplace. Again this evening I came across such a story, this time on the national evening news.

Tonight's news highlighted the Parenting in the Workplace Institute which is working to encourage more companies to embrace infant at work programs. The Institute provides resources to both parents and companies. The site includes success stories, sample policies and also a listing of several companies that already have infant at work policies in place.

I do think this model can work, however, I also believe working parents do need a chance to focus on work without a child around. Even if you can get a lot of work done with your baby around, sometimes it can become stressful. I speak from experience! While I have always had a childcare provider available to me, there have been many days over the last few years when I have needed to get some work done while I have the kids with me.

I probably did it more often when they were babies, but it was something that was still a bit challenging. I found that having at least a day or two to concentrate on work while the kids were in capable hands allowed me to stay on top of what I needed to get done, without stressing too much. On the flip side, the opportunity to spend more time with my kids made it much easier to be a working mom.

But I work for myself, so creating this work arrangement was easier for me. If you work for a company, it will be more challenging to convince your employer to allow you to bring your baby to work. As with any family friendly work arrangement, it is unlikely that your company will put an infant at work policy on the books unless they see a demand for it. And they will only see that demand once you ask. The Parenting in the Workplace Institute is a great place to get started in preparing your proposal.