Posted on: Monday, January 26, 2004
Babies in the office mean greater worker loyalty, one firm finds
By Carol Kleiman
Chicago Tribune
Mark Tatara is his company's "First Dad" — a title he earned in October when he became the first father to use the firm's benefit that allows parents to bring their infants to work.
Tatara is senior graphic designer and Web design manager of Health Newsletters Direct Inc., an Evanston, Ill.-based company that produces magazines and newsletters for hospitals and managed-care organizations nationwide.
His wife, Katherine Hood-Tatara, is an educator. She took a three-month leave after Jonathan's birth in August.
Tatara, who took off three weeks at his son's birth, took him to work from October to the end of December.
Thirteen other parents — all mothers — of 24 "office babies" had taken their infants to work before him.
"Being the first dad felt natural," said Tatara, who has been with the firm for 11 years and saw firsthand how well the arrangement can work.
"My wife and I wanted as much time as possible to bond with Jonathan, and she wasn't able to bring him to work when her maternity leave was up. It's wonderful to be able to do your job and not have to worry about your child — because he's right there."
Jonathan often slept in a bassinet secured on his father's desk.
Each day, Tatara brought diapers, hand wipes, a car seat for Jonathan to sit in, toys, activity centers and bottles of expressed breast milk to his private office.
"The closeness with my child means more me to than I ever could have imagined," Tatara said. "And my co-workers were excited about him being here."
Tatara brought Jonathan in through the end of December, when his wife decided to leave her job to take care of Jonathan full time.
"Part of what was so wonderful is that I wouldn't have known what I was missing," he said.
Tatara's boss feels the same way, which is why Sally J. Rynne, chief executive and founder of the company, introduced the benefit in 1990.
"I was tuned in to the problem because I'd spent my whole life juggling my family," said Rynne, who stayed at home from 1957 to 1972, raising six children. Her husband, Terry, is a healthcare marketing consultant.
"I didn't go to work until my youngest was in kindergarten, and then only as a part-time teacher," said Rynne, who has a master's degree in theology.
"In 1977, when I went to work full time as a recruiter of nurses for a hospital, I was constantly aware of how inflexible the workplace was."
In 1984, after organizing one of the first women's healthcare centers at a Chicago hospital, Rynne started her current business.
She has 62 employees and produces 42 million newsletters annually for 200 hospitals and managed-care organizations.
Fourteen years ago, she said to a valuable, pregnant employee, "Why don't you just bring your baby to work with you." And she did.
Rynne wanted to help parents make the transition from work to home, and that was the beginning of her "babies in the workplace" policy.
The CEO, who offers a variety of flexibility options to workers, also acknowledges that "100 percent employee productivity isn't possible while the baby is in the office."
However, new parents return earlier and are extremely loyal, and clients enjoy seeing the babies, Rynne said.
And the benefit has not cost her anything.
"My success is based on attracting star performers and keeping them," Rynne said. "Allowing new parents to bring their babies to the office shows the respect I feel for employees and motivates them to go the extra mile for our clients."
It's something more employers should consider, Rynne said. "Why wouldn't you provide a benefit that brings such a strong return?" she asked.
"In the first three quarters of 2003, I spent over $100,000 for health insurance and $40,000 for a 401(k) match for employees. Most benefits are expensive, but not this one."
