Why some companies are readjusting the work life balance for better retention. When the industrial age has changed the way we did business, it has also changed the way children were raised. The children could no longer be with their mother when both parents had to work, where a mother had to choose another life away from groups and a work environment or one without seeing her children for the greater part the day.
However, the 21st century has changed all that. Women today are balancing their careers with family life and societies beware. In order to retain high quality employees, many companies are now creating environments that allow a better work-life balance. One way companies are doing is allowing babies in the workplace.
For six consecutive years, San Jose Magazine named Valley Credit Union, San Jose, California, one of the "50 Best Places to Work in Silicon Valley." Decisive factors to be named winner of this award was the sole employee benefits, including the babies in the workplace that allows employees to bring babies up to eight months to the cashier to be with their mother at their work stations. According to Debbie Sallen, Vice-President Valley Human Resources, the program has had tremendous success with 42 babies who have gone through the program.
UNCLE Credit Union has received the honor of being appointed and family friendly employer of the year in Pleasanton, because of their babies in the workplace policy in California. The chairman of the fund and CEO, Jim Ott, expressed congratulations for the program's effectiveness in reducing staff shortages, eliminating the need for temporary staff during the holidays, and reduce the cost of care children for parents.
On the east coast, another CEO has babies in the workplace. Joy of Gendusas PostcardMania likes to have children at work and says it also improves the morale of its employees. His firm has been called the fastest growing marketing company direct mail postcards to the nation by Inc. Magazine and initially hired young adults who had very little training or experience before, but were eager learn. Gendusas main objective was to give young adults a chance industrious to prove themselves and they did - to mold them into high-caliber executives who manage 160 + staff and overseeing the $ 17 + million turnover Annual and climbing.
As employees grew, they bought their first house, got married and started having children. This inspiration to Joy PostcardMania also welcoming the new baby as it was to their parents. So far, five children were born in the family PostcardMania and have already been selected for key positions in the company when they grow up. Soraia Mary, daughter Melissa Please Bradshaw, was one of the first to come to PostcardMania as a baby and since her first day she was given the title of Vice-President Baby Development.
Being able to put my baby to work was an important factor to get back to my work so quickly, Bradshaw. With benefits like these, I could not wait to return. Bradshaw, who is senior vice president PostcardMania on all transactions with Soraia says work has allowed the flexibility it needed to be able to get the hang of being a new mother as well as ensuring the company still ran its high level of production.
Another lawyer for the babies to work, Carla Moquin, who has developed a comprehensive website about the concept (babiesatwork.org) became extremely interested in the subject when writing as a freelancer for extra money. Divorced with two young children, she had personal experience of trying to manage a full time job and be a mother to a newborn at the same time. Despite identifying and interviewing companies that have some type of child mortality in the work program, it found that the trend in parenting in the workplace was virtually unknown.
Many companies do not actively seek publicity for their program, "said Moquin. Apparently, Carla has found that some companies are not safe on the promotion of their program because they are not sure how audiences will receive it. However, it noted that companies often do not encourage receive congratulations for the public sector, therefore believes the problem is not really a problem. Carla goal is to increase awareness of parenting in the workplace as having viable benefits for employees and employers, such as:
Ability for employees to return to work earlier
employee loyalty and retention
Morale boost
Higher productivity
health costs
Whether by reducing the costs of having to replace employees or raising the disposal of the group, having children at work seems to offer benefits to businesses. Gendusas of PostcardMania considers it its responsibility to provide such a benefit. My people give me much of their lives, said Joy Gendusas. I want their work lives to be as close to home as possible and if that means having children at work, providing a gym or creating a studio sleeping for our IT guys have to draw all sleepless nights, so that's what I'll do.
Karla Jo Helms is the Vice President of Public Relations for PostcardMania (www.PostcardMania.com) named one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc. magazine. They help small businesses across the country to expand the use of direct mail marketing techniques.