Rolling It Out: Babies Join Workforce at Gabriel Group

Incidentally, it started out as a joke. “Babies at work – wouldn’t that be fun!?”

But with the ever-changing landscape of what real work-life balance truly looks like and the idea of a progressive, supportive culture always being top of mind, GG leadership decided to take a chance.

Fast forward to January of 2018, and the Gabriel Group Bring Your Baby to Work program was officially implemented company-wide.

For office associates, the concept is pretty simple: bring your baby to work until he or she turns six months old or starts to crawl (runaway infants aren’t quite on the agenda, after all). For production associates who aren’t able to bring their babies to work due to safety issues, each is offered a weekly stipend to be used towards childcare for the first six months of the child’s life.

With plenty of guidelines in place to ensure a positive experience for all, including alternative care providers, quiet spaces and plenty of open communication, the program has been met with raving reviews from new parents and co-workers alike.

“I feel so fortunate to work for a company that is supportive of me being a working mother. Being able to bring my daughter to the office with me has made the transition back to work as smooth as I can imagine the process possibly being. I have the best of both worlds; I get to come to work at a company I love, doing work I enjoy, without sacrificing precious time with my sweet baby girl.”

Kelsey Wuertz – Marketing Communications Manager

“The Bring Your Baby to Work program at Gabriel Group has been great. So far, both the mothers and babies have been very respectful of the business environment and things have run very smoothly, even with such unconventional circumstances. As a seasoned grandfather, it makes me smile every day.”

Tim Nowell – Senior Manager, Print and Estimating

“The Bring Your Baby to Work program is consistent with the core values of Gabriel Group, and as such, a very logical step for the company. We pride ourselves on providing our associates a work environment that will allow them personal and professional growth as well as a healthy work-life balance. I was skeptical at first, but it has proved to be a fun experience for everyone – especially the new mothers. We are excited about the future of the program and the hope to make sure we have a positive impact for our associates as they grow their families.”

Charlie Pitlyk – President

Still no word from Baby Ava, our pilot participant, regarding her thoughts on the matter. But the frequent smiles and growing list of new friends do in fact seem promising. Stay tuned for updates as the program and babies continue to develop …

Interested in learning more about our latest cultural initiative? Contact Anna McNulty at 314.743.5796 or anna.mcnulty@gabrielgroup.com and make sure to check out our blog post here to read on about everything else we’re doing as an outstanding place to work!