Bringing Kids to Work or Not
One of my colleagues brings her kids to work on days that schools or the day-care are unexpectedly closed. Her kids are about 5 and 7, and brings either one or both depending on the circumstance. I would say on average, she brings the "kids to work" about 7-10 times a year. Overall the kids are pretty well behaved and just sit around her office cube and draw or play with whatever toys they bring in. She seems to also be able to go out about her work quite normally, though tries to minimize meetings for the day. Given we have all worked together for a while, the kids are pretty familiar to most of the team and so we don't mind them coming in on occasion. However, some other office staff (not in our team) sitting around are not so kindly disposed and more often than not I have heard them grumble that why can't she just stay home with the kids. Not surprisingly it is the younger team members, who don't have kids of their own, that begrudge the whole bringing kids to work concept.
I admit at times it is distracting to see a couple of kids running around, but having a young child myself I know it is not always easy to find a baby sitter or take a day off on short notice. The company I work for tries to be quite flexible with the work/life balance and I could not find an explicit policy regarding bringing kids to work in certain situations. I wonder if companies actually have HR policies to address this? Mind you if the kids were noisy and creating a ruckus, then I too would share the feeling that they should not be brought into work. But once in a while it is okay as long as the employee/parent ensures that do not overly misbehave.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Should employees stay home with kids in unexpected situations or is it okay to bring them into work.
Picture credit: PK Kool
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October 21, 2008 11:55 AM
I have done this for an hour or so a few times a year but then I have an office where we can be isolated from the rest of the employees.
I think it is important for a child to get a taste of what it is like at work when possible. I think it gives them a more reasonable and realistic understanding of what adults do to bring home a paycheck.
I don't have a problem with it as long as the children are not a distraction for everyone else and there are things for the children to do. Different age groups are a different experience of course.
October 21, 2008 2:58 PM
I agree that parents should be allowed this leaway as long as their children are not a distraction from the work at hand. As a single mother, I found it occasionaly necessary to bring my daughter to work and now sometimes bring my grandson with me to work. Both found quite entertainment and learned from the experience. My coworkers never indicated there was a problem with their presence.
October 21, 2008 5:04 PM
Susan/Anon - Bring Children to work is fine when planned is fine. It is the unexpected trips that folks complain about. But as long as the kids are not distracting others should be fine.
October 24, 2008 10:04 AM
I have a two year old and another on the way. I don't think it's okay to bring kids to work. It's not fair to them to have to sit in a cube or an office all day, it's and not fair to co-workers when the kids get bored and act up. Most companies offer paid time off. Unexpected problems coming up with childcare is a good time to use it.
December 31, 2008 12:01 PM
Absolutely never. Children of any age do not belong in the parent’s workplace. The workplace is not a daycare. I work in a two story building with 800 employees. One individual routinely brought her two kids to work. She would put them in a meeting room with the door shut. I would then have a meeting booked in that room. On arrival, I would knock on the shut door and there would be no reply. On entering, surprise, here are this woman’s two kids. Gee, I wonder why she was fired. What happens on the day when the planets align and ten percent of the employees bring one of their kids to work. That would mean 80 kids running around my building. I never have and never would bring my children to my workplace. It shows an incredible lack of respect and consideration for your co-workers.