Family and Career Taking Your Child to Work

Sometimes it feels like a curse: Daycare is closed, Grandma is sick, and friends are out of town. Where to take the child? The obvious solution is sometimes the best one: take the child to work with you. In many companies, children are certainly welcome on short notice. Exceptions apply, of course, where safety is a concern—for example, when working with tools or chemicals.

No Legal Entitlement

There is no legal entitlement, and the duty of supervision and responsibility generally remain with the parents. However, children are certainly welcome in many companies. Exceptions apply where safety is a concern, such as when working with chemicals. As a rule, though, children don’t cause much disruption at work or distract colleagues from their tasks. The employer benefits as well. Simply bringing the child to the office in an emergency saves a full day of absence. And fathers or mothers work with significantly less stress when their child is nearby than when the child is temporarily placed somewhere else.

A Suitcase to Fight Boredom

If bringing children to work isn’t possible, some companies offer employees the option to work from home. But in fact, more and more companies are setting up parent-child workrooms or play areas. Some keep a suitcase with play materials on hand. Often, it’s these small measures that create an atmosphere where children are welcome and not seen as a disruption. At Siemens in Erlangen, even the cafeteria is geared toward young guests.

Checklist

1. Parents should find out early on what the company’s policy is and ask their boss if they can bring their child to work in an emergency.

2. Let colleagues who are directly affected know well in advance that the child will be coming to the office for the day.

3. Keep the child occupied during work hours. A “kids’ kit” at the office with toys to ward off boredom has proven effective. Of course, books and crayons also serve the purpose.

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