A. There are many companies that do not let an employer bring their babies to work. There have been many studies done that show great benefits of bringing babies 6 months and under to work with their parent. Here are some links that provide parents the option to bring their babies to work:
https://www.badgerbalm.com/s-19-babies-at-work.aspx
https://jenniferlabit.com/2015/04/14/our-employees-bring-babies-to-work-and-how-we-make-it-work/ ; https://www.cottonbabies.com/
https://borshoff.biz/borshoff-bring-your-baby-to-work/
http://www.astho.org/Maternal-and-Child-Health/Nevada-Infants-at-Work/
To some people pets can be considered babies as well. Here are links to some companies that let their employers bring and even encourage to bring their pets to work with them:
https://www.slu.edu/human-resources/pdfs/policies/bring-dog-to-work-policy.pdf
https://www.plu.edu/personnel-manual/general-human-resources-policies/pets-work-place/
https://www.union.edu/human-resources/pets-workplace-policy
https://corporate.r29.com/careers#careers-benefits
B. I interviewed 5 people and asked them what their workplace values are and what they think of their workplace and if I were a consultant what could be improved:
Luca, male, 24: He is a pastry chef at a bakery. His work values are; teamwork, organization, and accountability. Based on my conversation with him, if I were a consultant I would change the way management sees production. He says management doesn’t understand that production takes time and they expect their employees to have all production ready in a certain amount of time and some times that isn’t possible and management isn’t happy about that. The benefit would be that managers and employees would both be happy on each ends.
Nicole, female, 30: She works as a food and beverage manager in a sports complex. Her work values are; professionalism and competency. While talking to her she said that she would want employees to understand that her job consists of ordering products and taking account and inventory of products as well as being in charge in the other cashiers. If I were a consultant for her job position I would recommend that she should have a meeting with her employees and explain to them her work and everything it entails. Maybe then her employees wouldn’t be so harsh on her management skills.
Michael, male, 19: He works as a busboy in a restaurant. His work values are; growth, responsibility, and kindness. Our talk lead to him mentioning that some of the customers do not treat him with as much respect as the waiters because he is just a busboy. They wear different uniforms and that could possibly be the reason why he isn’t getting the respect he deserves. If I were a consultant I would suggest for the employees to all wear the same uniform so there is not any discrimination between servers and busboys.
David, male, 50: He is an sales representative for a company. His work values are; trust, responsibility, honesty and loyalty. Our conversation was about his personal values as not only a sales person but also as a normal person. What I would recommend to change about his workplace is to have the other employees be as humble and caring in this field of work as David. His commitment to his job from what I can tell is immeasurable compared to his fellow employees.
Susan, female, 56: She is an employee at an in-home care program. Her work values are; dependability, respect, commitment and compassion. She is very passionate about her job. She loves to help people and make sure that they are as comfortable as possible. Being an in -home care assistant means that she is constantly helping people who cannot help themselves. She has long work days and loves what she does. What concerned me the most in our conversation was about how the company doesn’t seem to have as much passion as their employees do for their patients. What I would change as a consultant would be the have employers take a day in their employees shoes and see what they go through in a day. Then maybe they’ll have more compassion for their employees.
This article talks about how since the 1960’s meetings in the workplace have gone up immensely because of our improving ability to communicate. In today’s time most people spend 23 hours of the work week in meetings. Most people find meeting useless and take time away from doing their actual job. I think that meetings are good for business but only if they get right to the point and do not sway from the topic at hand. Another way to alleviate such long work meeting hours is to have one once a week instead of every day.
This article talks about the benefits of employers having an open office and long tables with chairs compared to employers sitting in a cubicle. There was statistical evidence that supported the idea that employers are less stressed in an open office because they had contact with other employers who were going through the same stress-related work. I could see how this was more beneficial because they can see that they are not alone in the stress they feel and work and have a comfort in knowing that they are not alone.
D. Lillian Gilbreth was a great innovator, and created everyday useful creations such as refrigerator doors and in today’s modern society there are many inventions that make both life and work more efficient. I think that an invention that makes life and work more efficient is the computer. It is very rare in today’s society where there is not at least one computer in an office. People can easily find out information without having to leave their desks. They can send instant letters and get responses within minutes and not have to go outside to send a letter and wait a day or two for a response. They can contact employees and then them important documents that they need. Files do not need to be handwritten because of programs such as Microsoft word, paper does not need to be wasted as much because only important documents can be printed. As for personal use, people can use computers for online shopping and they do not have to even leave their house. They can have it shipped directly to their home and not worry about having to go outside and buy things such as groceries or clothing. For the elderly, they can get their medications if needed straight to them and they do not have to have the burden of having to pick them up at a pharmacy that is too far away. Inventions like the computer help many people in today’s society, even when it seems like the normal part of everyday life and no thought is given about life before these inventions were created.
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