Prepare for the soft coos, adorable moments and occasional wails. A South Carolina state agency has introduced a pilot initiative that permits employees to bring their babies into the workplace.
The South Carolina Department of Insurance will allow staff to bring infants up to 6 months old provided it does not interfere with office operations, the Post and Courier reported.
The department’s director, Ray Farmer, launched the trial after discovering that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has permitted employees to bring babies to work for two decades.
“Programs such as these can assist with employee retention and the success of this agency,” Farmer wrote in a memo to staff.
Participants are still expected to fulfill their standard 7½-hour workdays. Farmer emphasized that the program is not intended to operate as a daycare substitute. The department employs fewer than 100 people, and he anticipates only one or two infants in the office at any given time — though a “quiet room” is available if parents need a private area.
One significant benefit of allowing parent-baby time at work is the potential to save employees thousands on child-care bills.
Care.com reports that the typical cost to place an infant in a daycare center in Columbia, South Carolina’s capital, is $186 per week. The average weekly rate for nanny care is $559.
So, if a Department of Insurance employee returns to work after six weeks at home with a newborn, they could potentially save $3,720 in daycare fees or $11,180 in nanny costs over the next 20 weeks simply by bringing the baby to the office.
The Post and Courier noted this is the first state agency in South Carolina to trial such a policy. Still, bring-your-infant-to-work arrangements have been adopted by other government entities and private employers nationwide.
TheParenting in the Workplace Institute, an organization we covered last year, has documented more than 2,100 cases of employees bringing babies to work, across upwards of 200 workplaces in over 30 industries spanning more than 40 states.
The institute’s directory of baby-friendly organizations highlights how different employers accommodate working parents and help reduce the steep costs of raising a child.
Jamie Carter is a staff reporter at Savinly. She covers family and personal finance topics.
