Bringing up babies at work
Could that be a gurgle or – whoa – a stinky diaper in the next cubicle?
Yes, “baby on board” is the latest – and the most controversial trend in corporate day care for a small but growing number of brave employers. The twist is parents do the care, toting infants with them to the office each day and juggling bottles and wipes, conference calls and e-mail.
Proponents hail the idea as a workplace morale-booster, along with a needed benefit in a country lacking in affordable child care. At least 100 mostly small businesses nationwide now offer the benefit, according to the online nonprofit Parenting in the Workplace Institute. But naysayers call parenting and working a poor mix, and say infants are an unwanted distraction for employees.
“The majority of people are very skeptical,” says Carla Moquin, a Framingham mother of two who heads the institute. “There’s still a fear that a company won’t be seen as professional if they have babies at work.”
The debate certainly illustrates our messy slide into a digital world, where we still often think of work and home as separate even as these spheres mix. Is it a faux pas or a badge of honor to check e-mail at your son’s soccer game? If we can work anywhere, can we parent in the office? How much do we really want to integrate these two sides of life? There are no easy answers, and how we mix work and home will be a continuing source of debate – and tensions.
