For Employers
Work & Mother Suites have everything a woman needs to pump during the workday including private rooms, hospital-grade pumps and accessories, cleaning, refrigeration, storage, a private booking system, and more.
In addition to the facilities, Work & Mother offers a variety of support resources and educational programming to make sure moms have what they need to transition back to work, and successfully balance the demands of family and career.
COMPANY BENEFITS:
✓ Provide safe and sanitary space for their employees to pump
✓ Satisfy FLSA Requirements*
✓ Lactation Accommodation Policy for use in company’s handbook
✓ W&M Mother-Friendly Workplace seal for company’s own recruiting and marketing materials
✓ List company in the W&M Directory of Mother-Friendly Workplaces
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS:
✓ Unlimited access to building’s Suite and use of all equipment
✓ Room booking privileges via the W&M App
✓ Supplies such as milk storage bags, breast pads, lanolin, etc.
✓ Pump part cleaning and sanitizing supplies
✓ Onsite refrigeration
✓ Private locker
✓ Access to additional supplies and resources
✓ Discounts on partner products and services
In addition to the facilities, Work & Mother offers a variety of support resources and educational programming to make sure moms have what they need to transition back to work and successfully balance the demands of family and career.
Recruiting, Retention, Diversity & Inclusion
1/2 As Many Absences
By breastfeeding mothers to care for sick children compared to those formula feeding
94% Retention Rates
Of working moms at companies with lactation support programs, compared to the national average of 59%
15% Higher ROI
For businesses with at least 30% of leadership positions held by women
Many employers are about to lose an employee & don’t even know it:
- Only 2% of women intend to leave to focus on family, and yet 43% of new moms end up quitting for a more breastfeeding-friendly job
- Less than 18% feel confident about returning to work after childbirth
- 37% of workers feel so unsupported & isolated while trying to pump at work, they consider handing in their notice
Turnover costs US companies $160 billion/year.
For employers, losing an employee is a costly problem–and it gets more expensive the more experience an employee has. Turnover in relation to motherhood is getting even costlier for employers, as women are waiting longer, until they’re more established in their careers, to have children. When factoring in lost productivity, recruiting, training & on-boarding, it can cost on average, more than $150,000 to replace an experienced employee.
Compliance with Federal and Local Laws
There has been an 800% increase in breastfeeding-related lawsuits over the past decade. An out-of-office solution such as Work & Mother satisfies compliance and provides an added layer of privacy and security, while still being convenient and easy to access.
Work & Mother provides a better way to comply.
Section 7(r) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Provision For Nursing Mothers, requires employers to provide:
1. A reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk; &
2. A place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view & free from intrusion from coworkers & the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.
Additionally, more than 30 states and municipalities have existing or proposed legislation addressing breastfeeding accommodations and discrimination, that go above and beyond the federal requirements. New legislation focusing on this matter is being introduced daily.
Read more about the PUMP ACT and state breastfeeding laws, HERE.
It’s About More than a Room
Work & Mother provides the ideal framework to help guide new mothers through the hardest trials of working motherhood. By relieving many of the physical & emotional stressors, we can help working mothers succeed–both at work and at home.
Why in-office solutions, such as wellness rooms, are failing working mothers:
Availability: with more companies shifting to open office floor plans and the use of glass walls, privacy is becoming hard to come by and wellness rooms are being used as a catchall for any activity requiring privacy. Therefore, they are often unavailable when moms need them most. Women don’t always feel comfortable asking coworkers, especially males or a superior, to vacate the room so she can pump.
Privacy: even with a locking door (something wellness rooms should not have – find out why), a wellness room typically doesn’t offer a level of privacy desired when pumping. First of all, a woman must carry her equipment to and from the room, signaling to the rest of the office and making her feel on display. Secondly, a woman must alter or remove her clothing in order to pump. It can feel incredibly vulnerable to be unclothed while coworkers are knocking or carrying on conversations right outside the door.
Cleaning and Refrigeration: After pumping, a woman needs to clean the pump parts and refrigerate the milk. Often times, this means carrying it all from the wellness room to the company break room. In our research, it was this act that led to the majority of harassment and inappropriate comments by coworkers who felt uncomfortable by this. Additionally, what is most commonly the germiest item in the office? The faucet handles in the kitchen and break room!
Sanitary Space: People use wellness rooms when they are unwell. The last place a mother should prepare food for a newborn without an established immune system, is in a germy room where others have been sick. With COVID-19, this is more important than ever.
Are you interested in a suite for your building?
We are currently looking for optimal locations to open facilities. If you think your building needs a W&M Suite, please let us know by filling out the form to the right and we will contact you soon with more details.