As a basketball fan and Stephen Curry fan, I am probably one of a few women (and men) who actually watch and pay attention to post-game press conferences. Therefore, you can imagine my delight when Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors brought out his adorable 2 year-old daughter Riley, during one of said press conferences. To say she stole the show is an understatement. She giggled, squirmed and was a total ham. What parent wouldn’t be proud to show off his or her child at their place of business – especially in front of millions of fans?!
Then there was the second press conference. Little Miss Riley Curry was at it again, coming out onto the stage under the curtain, singing rap songs and even asking a reporter (or someone) to hold her gum. The cutie pie was again the center of attention….but this time I was over it.
Now I know that may make me seem like a “hater” – an overused term when someone doesn’t agree with the masses – but bringing kids to work too much may not be “cute” anymore after more than a few times. I get that there are family-friendly companies out there that welcome and even encourage parents to bring their children to work. But late night press conferences after professional basketball games during the playoffs may not be the best environment for toddlers. My 16 month-old is usually knocked out by then, and I’m not sure I’d adjust his bedtime for press conferences. But then again I’m not married to a pro baller either.
Since the case of Steph Curry and his daughter may not be a “normal” circumstance many of us would find ourselves in, it’s hard to say what is appropriate or not in that situation. One could argue that it was done for ratings, that the NBA approves, that Curry travels a lot so he doesn’t get much time to spend with his daughter – so therefore his daughter’s presence is a breath of fresh air. But what about us “regular” folks who work in an office setting, call a cubicle home and who don’t have million dollar endorsement deals? Is it appropriate for us to bring our kids to work because they’re just so darn cute?
Well, it depends.
My last job in corporate America was very family friendly. There were two rooms set aside for mothers who breastfed their babies and needed a place to pump. We had emergency daycare services in place and we even were encouraged to work remotely if our kid was sick without using up all of our sick, personal or vacation days. But if you ask me, all of those perks were so that women didn’t HAVE to bring their kids to work. I mean, let’s face it – most women are in a bind if their daycare falls through, or their child gets sick and they can’t take off from work or work from home. I was very grateful my last company took all those measures to make sure mommies and daddies had valuable resources available for such situations. It made it so I never wanted to leave for those benefits alone. Unfortunately, corporate restructuring gave me no choice. Now, finding another company with similar perks is one of my top priorities.
That said, it seems that working for family-friendly companies and being able to bring your kids to work make for desirable work conditions, boosts morale and leads to less turnover. Some say that giving parents these types of options boost their productivity as well. But there are some companies that don’t share that same view.
While productivity may increase in some instances for parents, it may diminish productivity for those without children, or those who feel children should be left at home. While I love kids, I remember being at work during my childless years on “Kid Day” and not being able to conduct business on the phone because there were kids running wild in the background. Since then, I just planned ahead and didn’t schedule any calls when that day rolled around. But on the days when coworkers brought their kids in on a non “Kid Day” day, it was annoying and distracting when other coworkers let their child run around unsupervised. It was as if they expected their colleagues to be babysitters at work. It was unprofessional.
Since all companies are different, one can’t say if bringing kids to work is appropriate or not. I guess if I were running my own company, I’d want parents to feel a family-friendly vibe, but I’d have rules in place as well…some that companies should adopt:
One – I’d limit the number of days/times a parent could bring a child to work so that they don’t abuse the privilege. In the case of emergencies, I’d allow it if I couldn’t provide a contingency plan – like school closings on snow days for example. I’d probably just allow a parent to work from home in that case. Same goes for if the child is sick. I can’t have someone’s snotty nosed, coughing kid making the rest of us sick.
Two – I’d set aside child friendly areas AWAY from work areas so as not to disturb or distract other coworkers from doing their job. Kid noise is not “adorable” to some people.
Lastly, I may even set an age requirement. Infants and toddlers need constant supervision, so if they’re with you at work and you’re always watching them, then you’re not doing any work. And it’s not fair to make your coworkers babysit your kid for you while you run off to a meeting or the copy room. If your child is older than 5, they may be able to sit in the corner and read or play video games to keep themselves occupied while their parent gets some work done. There are many rewards to being able to bring kids to work, and as long as they outweigh the cons, I’m all for it.
