The Mom Advantage: Making the Workplace Hospitable to Working Moms

No life event seems to get a corporation's collective undies in a
bundle so much as the birth or adoption of a baby. Perhaps it's the
unpredictability of the event. One day Sally
is working quietly at her desk, and the next day she drops the B-bomb
on her boss like it's nothing.

Unlike vacations, promotions, work schedules and travel requirements,
a baby's arrival is in the employee's court all the way.

Lots of people prefer predictability to unpredictability, and so the
disappearance of an employee on maternity leave feels like a terrible
inconvenience and an affront.

I like to remind employers that a garden-variety skiing accident
could easily land an employee of either gender in a six-week medical
leave of absence, but that doesn't seem to quiet their fears.

After all, they tell me, an employee with a torn tendon comes back to
work post-leave unencumbered. S/he hasn't taken on a major life
obligation in the process! This is true. New motherhood (or repeat
motherhood) is its own animal.

Yet, babies are not about to stop appearing, and employers need to
handle their working moms' arrivals and departures without panic.
Having made an investment in an employee already, wouldn't you rather
keep her on board than lose her to a more family-friendly environment?

Accommodating Moms

But you'll need more than a family-friendly policy. You'll need to do
lots of listening and lots of communicating, to consider each
returning mom's situation on its own merits, and to guard against a
backlash from non-moms who may wonder why having a baby entitles an
employee to special hours and other privileges.

The most common accommodations for returning moms are flexibility in
their work schedules and flexibility of place (e.g. telecommuting). A
baby's early months require doctor visits during the day and
childcare can create scheduling demands.

Less common accommodations for new moms are on-site child care, the
ability to bring Baby to work, and company-paid babysitting when Mom
travels for business.

Overcoming Barriers

Employers typically have three big fears in the accommodating-new-
moms department. Be prepared to deal with these cultural obstacles.

If we offer special programs to new moms…

Other employees will complain.
The last thing we want to do is to send a signal that moms are golden
and all other employees are chopped liver.

Accommodations need to be based on a realistic assessment of job
requirements,
the returning mom's tenure and performance, and how the accommodation
could be applied to others.

If you can't extend the same kind of flexibility to other employees,
consider putting a timeframe on the agreement. Meet and discuss the
arrangements every quarter to see whether it makes sense to stay the
course.

When I was a corporate HR person, I'd hear from non-parents fairly
often about our company's few family-friendly offerings. I'd say to
them:

"We need to develop all the employee groups that we have here at XYZ
Corp, and spot any gaps between the performance or tenure of any
group of employees and the team overall. If new moms are quitting at
an alarming rate, that's a business problem. If Latvian red-headed
Capricorn employees were dropping like flies, that would be a
business problem, too."

If we can help employees see our outreach and accommodation measures
as the solution to a legitimate business problem, we have a chance to
get them over the 'why not me?' hump.

To read the full story, please jump here.