Take Your Baby to Work. [View all]

'My daughter, Uma, is my third child. When her brothers were born, I was working at a large bank and opted for its 13-week paid leave. I was grateful to be home for their first gummy smiles but missed the problem-solving and camaraderie of work. The first time, I tried keeping up with some projects from home but found remote work isolating. The second time, my email access was blocked, so I was cut off entirely.

With Uma, I wanted a different experience. I had recently been appointed chief executive of a college admissions software company; although the company does offer paid leave, I decided to return to the office when Uma was 6 weeks old. But on her 1-month birthday, she still seemed so small and vulnerable.

I wondered: Why couldn’t I bring Uma along with me to the office? I was already wearing her in a hands-free sling. She slept more than 15 hours per day, and I knew that, despite my best efforts, much of that sleep would continue to be during the day rather than at night.

“Does that sound insane?” I asked my husband. I didn’t want my daughter to create an unwelcome distraction and could imagine my colleagues’ looks of terror and disbelief.

“Well, you’ll only know if it’s crazy once you try,” my husband said. . .

I learned that there’s a movement underway, led by the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, to encourage more parents to take their babies to work. Over the past decade, the group has recorded more than 2,100 babies being brought to more than 200 American organizations, including consulting, law and accounting firms, retail stores, dance studios and government agencies. . .

The concept of babies at work may never take hold in a broad way. But more workers, and their bosses, should consider it. Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is next Thursday; I hope some new parents will take it as an opening to talk about bringing along their babies.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/opinion/sunday/take-your-baby-to-work.html?