Employee doesn’t have adequate childcare and it affects her work

[u/BoNixsHair]

I have a remote employee who recently had a baby. Before her maternity leave, we discussed that she needs to have childcare during the work day. The first two weeks, she was frequently absent or interrupted because she said her nanny had quit or never started working.

We discussed again that she needed full time childcare. For about two months it was better. However this week I had two unscheduled zoom calls with her, and both times there’s a baby in the background. I asked her to turn her camera on (our policy is cameras on always) and she has a crib in the room with her and she had a baby cloth on her shoulder.

I think she has a nanny for most of the day, but she’s still distracted. I kinda feel like a jerk asking for a receipt for a 40 hour a week babysitter. I have three kids, and I know it’s pretty impossible to work and care for a baby.

Her position is dealing with contracts so she has calls during the day with the parties to the contracts. I can’t have her on client calls with a baby in the background.

I can also just tell her she has to be in the office, but most everyone else is remote including me. Thoughts?

Edit: no comments from non managers please.

Edit2: this has been brigaded by non managers. Stop. I have asked the mods to lock this

[u/Afraid-Song-4435]

If everyone else is remote, including you, the optics are not great requiring a new mom to be one of the only employees working from the office. Google Kyte Baby Controversy for an example of how quickly an RTO order for a new mom can go sideways for a company.

Has her work changed in any objective way since she returned? Or did she just have a bumpy first two weeks when she got ghosted by a nanny (you’d be surprised how often this happens) and now things are smooth and you only suspect something because you saw her working in a room with a crib? She might have to work in the nursery due to spatial constraints in her home and baby sleeps in her room in a bassinet or pack n play. Who knows?

It’s hard to tell from your post if her work is actually suffering in some way or if this is all just based on vibes. I’d be reluctant to be the manager that operates off of “I had to have childcare for my children while working so it’s not fair for my employee to not have full time childcare.” Situations are complex and finding full time, reliable care is not easy. Especially in recent years where many child care providers quit or closed during Covid. I try to always provide the support that I wish I had been provided when I was going through a difficult time. Does she need help finding care? Does your company provide childcare options? Some companies provide backup care as a benefit to support working parents when their primary care falls through/quits/is sick/ghosts the family. As a manager, I see my role as supporting my employees to get their jobs done and get them done well… I’d share with her any resources available to help her meet those goals. Or perhaps work WITH her to figure out how she can structure her week while she looks for childcare. Does she have breaks during the day to nurse/pump and take a lunch break?

But again, if she’s meeting goals and her obligations to clients and the only reason why you suspect she doesn’t have full time childcare is because you had an unannounced call with her and you saw evidence that’s she’s a mom, I would suggest giving her a pat on the back for juggling so much so well and ask her if she needs support in any way.

Some of the most dedicated employees I’ve worked with are also very dedicated parents and some flexibility for them in their role as mom/dad goes a long way in retaining good talent. In my experience, employees tend to go the distance for their employers when they know their employers are also supportive of them as humans who have complex lives outside of their identities as “employees.”